


How To Train Your Snowman

by HinataKaede



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 00:03:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 55,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6172072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HinataKaede/pseuds/HinataKaede
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter comes early on the Island of Berk when Jack Frost stops by. Hiccup, still an outsider despite his heroic actions, is the only human to see Jack, and soon lets him into his life, only to realize he has feelings for the spirit. Will Jack return his feelings? What will happen when an unseen villain arrives and threatens Berk?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction ever. I have it posted on another site, but my sisters both wanted me to put it on here, since they don't use that site. So I have conceded... and here is my HiJack crossover. Happy Reading!

Chapter 1  
It was too cold to be doing this. Toothless had better appreciate the gift. Hiccup winced as he grabbed the trout from the freezing water of the ocean. It seemed that winter had come a little early this year- it had been snowing for three days straight now, but it was still warm enough out that the snow wasn’t completely sticking, that was, until today. The snow was sticking heavily to everything it touched, coating everything in sight with a blinding whiteness. The water, on the other hand, was a matter of a different caliber. It had been well below freezing for weeks, but the waves made it difficult for ice to completely sheet over. That, Hiccup guessed, was a pretty good thing, since the village still needed some food.  
If it hadn’t been for the fact that Toothless had done an exceptional job in Dragon Training and Hiccup had wished to reward his friend, he would have been inside by now, thawing his stiff, cold bones by a nice blazing fire.  
Usually, the cold never really bothered Hiccup. But Thor almighty, today was freezing.  
Hiccup placed the still squirming trout into the giant woven basket he had next to him. It was only half full. Fishing had been pretty light in the past weeks, with the cold setting in. Hiccup let out a long, exasperated sigh as he looked out across the wide expanse that was the ocean. The summer months had been so great, with every waking moment spent with his giant dragon. He wasn’t ready for the cold. But, he was not going to sit in his hut all winter like most of the young children would be. He was a Viking after all. And not just any Viking- the son of the chief. He had to at least try to act like a grown Viking.  
A small gust of wind blew across Hiccup, sending shivers down his spine. He pulled his sheepskin vest closer to his skin as his teeth chattered loudly. It was too cold to be fishing for now. Toothless would just have to be satisfied with the half basket this time around. With another sigh, Hiccup stood and lifted the basket onto his back. He glanced at the ocean once more. The water looked dark and grey now, the waves frothing just the slightest as they rose and fell calmly.  
A shadow in the sky caught Hiccup’s attention. It was small, and Hiccup had to squint to focus on the floating blur. The brown color contrasted with the pale grey of the clouds around it.  
Could it be a new breed of dragon? Hiccup thought as looked to the sky, following the flying thing’s movements as it flew closer to Berk. Hiccup noticed it began to snow harder the closer the blur got to the village.  
Hiccup’s mouth dropped open in surprise when the thing flew right above his head, letting out a loud whoop of laughter as it did so. Hiccup realized this thing was not a dragon, but a boy. He zoomed past Hiccup, laughing as snowflakes scurried after him.  
There hadn’t been a dragon beneath the boy. In fact, there was nothing helping the boy fly at all. Hiccup shook his head, trying to clear it of the strange sight; sure his mind was playing tricks on him. Was he so pathetic a person that even his mind wanted to play pranks? Lamenting this idea, he began the long, slow trudge up the long steps to the main part of the village, and to his home.  
When he reached the top of the rocky mountain, where his hut stood like a regal being, tall and firm, Hiccup looked around to find his four legged friend. Toothless was nowhere to be seen. Hiccup shrugged and opened the big heavy doors of his hut. There, he saw Toothless curled by the hearth; his head rising upon hearing Hiccup enter. Toothless’ long ear flaps raised into the air as he intently watched Hiccup struggle with the big basket, to get it to the floor. His giant yellow-green eyes widened as Hiccup dumped the basket over, revealing the trout and Icelandic Cod he had caught. Toothless eagerly pushed himself off of the floor, giving Hiccup a big toothless grin, and began to devour the fish one by one.  
“Here ya go bud.” Hiccup said, shaking his head at the diminishing pile of fish. “Sorry I didn’t get as much as normal. It’s really cold out there today.” Toothless nodded his head absently as if to say it was okay, not taking a break to gulp down another fish. Hiccup moved toward the giant Oak table in the center of the room, taking off his sheepskin vest and hanging it near the fireplace on his way there.  
As he sat at the table, Hiccup remembered the image of the flying boy. He couldn’t figure it out. No one else who had been out had seemed to even notice the boy, even though he had been laughing. They hadn’t even looked up. Had it really been his mind? Did his subconscious think that he was so pathetic for having only a dragon as a friend that it made up an imaginary friend to be with?  
“Hey Toothless.” Hiccup said, frowning as he stared at the table. The big black dragon looked up as he finished the last of the fish, and walked gracefully over to the boy, resting his large head on Hiccup’s small lap. “I think I’m going crazy. At least a little. I saw a boy today as I was coming up the steps to bring you your fish. He was flying. Without a dragon.”  
Toothless’ eyes widened slightly, and he moved his head in a way to nudge the boy, as if asking for more information. Hiccup nodded, understanding.  
“Well, this boy… I saw him flying over the ocean. At first I thought he was a new breed of dragon, but as he got closer, I noticed it was a boy. No one else seemed to notice him either. But, could it be just my mind?” Toothless cooed gently, encouraging Hiccup to talk more.  
“Well, he flew by pretty fast, but what I could see was a young looking boy, with snow white hair. He was holding a giant curved stick. Snow followed him. He was wearing a brown colored shawl thing. I don’t recall seeing any kind of footwear either, though that I can’t be sure of.”  
Toothless raised his head off of Hiccup’s lap, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Hiccup’s own eyes, a light green color, were screwed shut, his face molded into a frown. Toothless nudged his rider gently, getting Hiccup’s attention once more.  
“I’m sorry bud.” He said, scratching Toothless gently under his chin, avoiding the spot that made all dragons pass out, “I guess I just need to know if it was just my mind finally losing it, or if it was a real thing.”  
The Night Fury nodded his head in understanding and leapt lightly up the narrow steps to Hiccup’s room. Hiccup shook his head at Toothless’ sudden playful mood, a smile forming on his lips as the dragon came bounding back down the stairs, the riding harness clamped carefully between his teeth. Hiccup took the harness from Toothless’ mouth.  
“It’s pretty cold out there Toothless, are you sure you want to go for a ride?” he said as he slipped the harness over his head and tightened the straps. Toothless purred loudly in response, causing Hiccup to laugh a little at his friend. He began to walk to the front door, with Toothless prancing excitedly behind him. Hiccup put on his now slightly damp sheepskin vest and opened the door and winced slightly as the cold air bit at his exposed flesh. It had dropped at least ten degrees.  
Even though it was freezing out, Hiccup knew that flying on Toothless would ease his mind. He thanked the gods for Toothless as he mounted his dragon.  
“Alright Toothless,” Hiccup said, gritting his teeth against the cold. “Let’s fly.” With that, the mighty beast leaped into the air with a playful roar.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Jack smiled as he watched the small boy flying on the giant black dragon. It had been years since he had seen him. How many had it been? Ten years? Twenty? Jack didn’t remember. But the boy… he was new. He didn’t know why, but the little brunette caught his attention. Perhaps it was because the boy had looked right at him. What other reason would a human have for watching him fly in open mouthed wonder?  
And he had told the dragon he had seen Jack flying.  
Jack had decided to follow the boy home; just to be sure he hadn’t imagined the boy looking at him. He felt a little guilty for eavesdropping, but he was curious. But now, he knew for a fact the little boy could see him. Maybe he should go and introduce himself? He hadn’t had anyone to talk to in quite a while, since the dragon had migrated years ago and had never returned. The company would be nice. And catching up with the flying lizard wouldn’t be a bad idea either.  
He smiled at the boy, who was yelling something to the Night Fury. Jack leapt gently from tree to tree, watching closely and listening hard.  
“Come on Toothless!” the boy yelled, patting the side of the dragon’s head, “Let’s take a breather, I can’t feel my nose anymore.” With an audible grunt, the huge beast lowered himself to the ground. Jack jumped down from the giant pine he was hiding in and landed in a patch of snow covered shrubbery.  
Jack watched as the boy unhooked the harness from the saddle. As he jumped down off of the creature’s back, Jack noticed the boy wasn’t just small. His brown hair was damp from the snow melting when it touched his warm skin, and he was wearing the same vest Jack had seen earlier. The boy only had one leg. His left leg was a wooden peg with a flat metal hook on the bottom.  
Jack moved closer to the pair, the shrubbery concealing him from view. But he knew the dragon could sense that he was there. Jack had never managed to sneak up on the beast, which wasn’t fun at all.  
“Thanks bud,” said the boy, rubbing his hands together, and then patting the dragon lightly. “It’s gonna start to get really dark soon, and it’s starting to get colder now. We should head home.”  
The Night Fury snorted, and turned his head to look at Jack, narrowing his yellow-green eyes. The boy sighed quietly, knowing the beast knew exactly where he was. Then the dragon turned away, not saying a word, and nudged the small boy. Jack watched as the boy hooked up the harness once again.  
“Okay Toothless.”  
The Night Fury leapt into the air, and began his flight back to the hut in the village, leaving Jack sitting in the snow, a look of wonder on his face.  
“Toothless.” Jack muttered to himself.   
When Jack had met him, the fearsome beast hadn’t had an actual name. It was a fitting name for the creature, as long as his teeth weren’t showing. But maybe the irony was the point of the name.  
Jack took to the skies a moment later, following the giant black blob that was the dragon and his rider. He made sure to keep his distance, unsure of whether he wanted to meet the boy or not, knowing that ‘Toothless’ might not be too happy at his previous appearance. Jack smiled as the wind rushed through his snowy hair. He watched the boy and the dragon flying together- they almost seemed to be one being. Jack shook his head, the smile turning into a smirk as he remembered how much the dragon hated being touched by anyone- especially the ice spirit.  
He watched as the two landed in front of the hut at the top of the hill. The boy said something to Toothless, turned and began walking back down the hill. The dragon watched as the boy left, and then pushed the giant door open with his shoulder. Jack flew around the hut, looking for a different entrance. He did not want to run into the dragon’s rear.  
The entrance he found was a window, big enough to sit by, but much too small for the dragon to get out of. The room it opened into had a giant black dragon, settling in from the flight.  
If you want to talk then come in, Jack. A voice said softly. Jack smiled as he heard the dragon’s familiar deep voice. Toothless was looking at Jack with his giant eyes. His pupils were slitted like a cat’s and Jack exhaled slowly as he pushed the window open, slowly closing it again upon entering.  
“It’s been a while.” Jack started, taking in the surroundings. “I didn’t know where you run off to. You are looking well.” Toothless nodded in appreciation.  
Thank you, Jack. I see you haven’t changed a bit. Still causing trouble, are we?  
Jack chuckled, hopping up onto one of the nearby rafters and swinging his staff behind his head, resting his arms over it. “So when did you become a chauffeur to a human? I didn’t think you were the type.”  
I didn’t think you were the type to be so nosey. The black beast sighed. It is a long story, but I am indebted to Hiccup. He saved my life, on more than one occasion.  
“Hiccup?” Jack interrupted, stifling a giggle. He had heard many strange names before, but this one took the cake. But, strange though it was, it was actually quite adorable, in Jack’s opinion. It just made the boy that much cuter. “And since when did you need saving?” Jack’s head snapped down to look Toothless in the eyes.  
The big dragon just laughed. It put Jack off slightly, but he said nothing more. Jack whipped his staff from behind his head and twirled it impatiently, his forehead creasing.  
It was about three years ago now, that he set me and all other dragons free. That little human has more heart than I have seen, ever. In return, I protect him. He is small, especially for a Viking.  
Jack nodded, and sat down on the rafter, closing his eyes for the briefest moment.  
“Toothless.”  
Toothless raised his head slightly in response.  
“I think… I think he can see me.”  
Toothless nodded his head and curled into a ball. His eyes closed and he almost seemed to smile.  
Would it be such a bad thing if he could? I thought that was what you wanted-someone to see you.  
“Yeah, but-”  
I thought it was you when he began to describe what he saw. I wasn’t all that surprised that you were around; it did get pretty chilly out there so soon. I was however, surprised that he could see you.  
Jack smiled. “So, he can see me. And you didn’t want to say hi?” The dragon snorted in response, keeping his eyes closed.  
“Ouch. And here I thought we were friends.”  
You haven’t gotten any less annoying. When will you grow up? Toothless sighed tiredly. I have to protect Hiccup now; I am not as carefree as I once was.  
“I can tell.” Jack scoffed, jumping down to lean in front of the creature, who didn’t move. “You’re almost like an old man. You got boring Toothless. And by the way, the name…. it’s cute.”  
Well, one of us has to be. Toothless muttered playfully. I’m just glad it’s me.  
“Oh, ha ha aren’t you just hilarious.” Jack teased, reaching out to rub his hand across Toothless’ head. Toothless purred quietly.  
Even when we were flying, he could not help but point out where he saw you- what you were doing. He thinks he is going crazy Jack.  
“I guess I will have to fix that then. I will introduce myself later. Right now, I want to play in the snow.”  
A slight scurry was heard as Jack finished his sentence. Toothless opened his eyes and raised his head. His pupils weren’t slitted now.  
It’s too late for later. Toothless laughed, purring loudly as the door opened. Jack jumped into the rafters, shaking his head at the giant dragon.  
“Hey Toothless, I managed to grab another cod for ya from the great hall, as a little treat. Eat up and let’s go to bed. I’m exhausted. We also have a big day in dragon train-” Hiccup dropped his sentence as he looked at his friend, who was staring intently at the rafters. He seemed to be smiling.  
“Toothless?”  
Hiccup dropped the fish he had been holding, and slowly edged toward the dragon, keeping his eyes focused on the rafters. Toothless’ smile widened, and a form emerged from the shadows and dropped in front of Hiccup.  
“Ahh!” shouted Hiccup, stepping backwards and tripping over himself. Toothless leapt into action but was too late as the boy hit the ground with a dull thud. Toothless growled lowly, looking at Jack.  
Jack ignored the obvious threat from Toothless and raised his hand out to the boy, who was rubbing his rear in pain.  
“Hiccup! Are you okay?” shouted a voice from downstairs.  
“I’m fine dad.” Hiccup called back, looking at Jack with wide eyes.  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked quietly, continuing to hold his hand out for the boy to take.  
Hiccup just sat on the floor, staring at the young boy standing in front of him. His jaw dropped as he realized the snow white hair, the brown cloak, and the staff the boy was holding. Hiccup looked down to the boy’s feet. They were completely bare. He raised his head to look into Jack’s face, and noticed how pale he was. But the paleness seemed to bring out the beauty of his eyes. They were a light blue, bright and full of life.  
Jack looked down at Hiccup, his arm growing tired as he continued to hold his hand outstretched in an invitation for assistance. What was with this kid? Jack thought as he stared at the boy. His eyes were the brightest green he had ever seen, and he was really small, smaller than what Jack had seen when they had been out flying.  
Finally, Hiccup pulled himself up off the floor, his face a light shade of pink. He turned to Toothless, his green eyes as wide as they could possibly go.  
“Toothless. I’m seeing the boy in my bedroom. I have lost it.” Toothless shook his head as Jack straightened up, and nudged the back of Hiccup’s legs. He looked expectantly from one boy to the other, his gaze lingering slightly on Jack.  
Say something you numbskull.  
Jack cleared his throat as Toothless sat on his hind legs, his front legs dangling in front of him, like a human. “Hi. My name is Jack. Jack Frost.” Once again, Jack held out his hand, this time for the young boy to shake.  
“Umm…. Hiccup.” Mumbled Hiccup as he hesitantly reached out to take Jack’s hand. As he touched him though, Hiccup drew back “You are freezing! Are you alright?”  
Jack nodded, blushing slightly, turning away so Hiccup wouldn’t see. Toothless was right. This boy had a purely giant heart. “I’m fine. My body has always been this way- ever since I can remember.” He mumbled, almost to himself.  
“Oh.” Hiccup dropped his eyes to the floor as Jack turned back to look at him. He stood there, staring at the ground for what seemed like an eternity, looking up as Jack began to pace the room.  
Toothless purred loudly and went back to his corner, curling back up on the floor.  
Stop being so awkward. Didn’t you come here to meet him? Talk already.  
Jack’s head snapped from the wall hanging he had been staring at to Toothless’ still figure. Hiccup watched Toothless as he closed his eyes, completely alright with the strange boy in the bedroom.  
“Thanks a lot you old, overgrown lizard.” Jack mumbled. Toothless simply twitched in response.  
“So… how did you get in here? I mean, you can’t be imaginary because Toothless can see you too, so you must have gotten in here somehow.” Hiccup asked, as he slowly stumbled over to his bed. Jack just shrugged his narrow shoulders and twirled his staff absently behind his back.  
“I flew.”  
Hiccup’s mouth dropped to the floor. His eyes went wide again and Jack couldn’t help but laugh a little at the boy’s face. He was kind of adorable.   
“So, Hiccup…” Jack said, turning to look at the boy, who immediately dropped his gaze back to the floor, “you can see and hear me?”  
“Why wouldn’t I?” muttered Hiccup.  
Jack walked lightly over to where the boy sat, and floated on his just above the ground, his face close to Hiccup’s. Hiccup yelped when he looked up and saw Jack floating just inches from his face.  
“Because,” Jack said quietly, his eyes filling with sorrow, “no one else can.”  
Hiccup didn’t know why, but the lost and lonely look in Jack’s eyes tugged at his heart. He wanted to give Jack a hug, since that seemed to be what he needed, something to cheer him up a bit. Instead, he rubbed his hand over the back of his head.  
“How come?”  
Jack sighed and glanced over to Toothless. When the dragon did not respond, he shook his head. Hiccup’s eyes grew wide again as Jack whispered, “Because I am Jack Frost. I am the bringer of Winter.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Hiccup awoke to a not so gentle nudge from Toothless. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he yawned. The previous night had been strange. He had dreamed he had met Jack Frost- the bringer of winter. His mind must really hate him. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light streaming through his window, Hiccup saw something that made his heart jump and his bright green eyes widen to the size of saucers.  
The white haired boy was fast asleep on Toothless' back.   
Hiccup's mouth dropped open just the slightest as he remembered his "dream." His breathing felt heavy as he stared at the boy. Jack smirked in his sleep as he curled closer to Toothless' warmth, his staff clasped protectively to his chest.  
Spirit or no, when Jack was sleeping, he looked calm and peaceful. It was a look that Hiccup found cute. Hiccup frowned and shook his head as soon as the thought crossed his mind. There was no way he was getting a crush on a guy. And not just that- but a guy he had just met.  
Even though Hiccup berated himself about the possibility of a crush, his heartbeat refused to slow. Toothless growled lightly to remind Hiccup to get moving. He swished his tail back and forth with impatience. Hiccup chuckled lightly as he rose from the bed.  
"Alright bud, I'm moving."  
As Hiccup spoke, Jack slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the room in wide eyed wonderment, blushing as his eyes met Hiccup's. Jumping off of Toothless, he smirked playfully.  
"Thanks for the bed." Jack whispered to the dragon, almost quiet enough for Hiccup to miss. Toothless just snorted and turned away. As Hiccup watched from the corner of his eye, Jack smirked mischievously. That smirk sent Hiccup's heart racing once again. Trying his best to ignore the butterflies rising in his stomach, Hiccup selected his long sleeved shirt and pulled out the harness. As he pulled the harness over his head and began to tighten it, Hiccup jumped at the smooth voice that whispered just behind his ear.  
"Where are you going so early? Time to fly?"  
Hiccup let his breath out quickly and simply nodded. He didn't trust his voice.  
"Can I come too?"  
Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "It's just dragon training, so it's not real flying. And besides, I think you would get too bored." Hiccup turned to look at Jack, his heart nearly freezing as he did. Jack's face was frozen into a look of pure agony. His bright blue eyes seemed to have lost its liveliness and his hands clutched his staff tightly as he leaned against it, his knuckles going white.  
"I would rather be bored, than be alone." Jack whispered into his staff.  
Hiccup took in a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out. He did this when he was thinking hard or frustrated and everyone in his village poked fun at him for it. The look of sadness and loneliness written across Jack's face was murder. Hiccup hated this look, and found himself wanting to do anything to get that look to go away. He let his breath out slowly, looking at Toothless. Jack stood still, looking at the ground and clutching his staff like it was the last anchor to the earth he had. Toothless was looking at Jack, his eyes wide and his ear flaps up.  
"Alright… you can come. But," he started as Jack's head snapped up, life coming back into his face and eyes, "you are only watching. Deal?"  
Jack's face lit up and he let out a loud whoop of laughter before pushing off the ground and tearing around the room, causing loose paper to scurry around in his wake. He stopped directly in front of Hiccup and dropped to the ground lightly.  
"Deal." He said, smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is split between Jack's POV and Hiccups POV... I hope you like it!

Chapter 4  
Jack followed the boy and his dragon out of the empty house- Stoick had gone out early to try to get some more fish. The village was mostly empty of adults as Toothless and Hiccup walked through, making their way to the pit for dragon training. Jack followed behind, his mouth open as he took in the beauty of every hut he passed. He had never really looked at the village like this before.   
As they neared the chained off pit where the Vikings held their dragon training, Jack could hear the sounds of other dragons, as well as a few people talking. He followed Hiccup into the pit, and saw five teens, all bigger than Hiccup, talking in a circle. Nearby, there were some other dragons, but Jack didn’t know very many of them. The Zippleback and Nadder had been acquaintances, but only Toothless had really been a friend.  
“Okay bud. We are just gonna do whatever you want to do today. I’m not feeling too terribly creative. We should try some of your solo gliding though.” Hiccup said as he got onto Toothless’ back. Toothless nodded slightly and raised his rear into the air, giving it a slight wiggle before leaping to the skies.  
Jack smiled as he watched Hiccup and Toothless soar through the air around the pit. Hiccup had said he would get bored, but he was wrong. Jack enjoyed watching Hiccup glide through the air; doing twists and turns on the mighty Night Fury. Though he wasn’t bored, Jack wished he could fly with Hiccup and Toothless. He loved flying. But he was only supposed to watch.  
The other teens were watching Hiccup and Toothless, but they didn’t seem too interested. Jack only watched them momentarily, then went back to following the flying pair. He laughed as Toothless began a somersault dive, spinning rapidly as he gained momentum toward the ground, causing Hiccup to cry out in fear. It wasn’t a scream, but it wasn’t silent either.  
The other teens laughed as Toothless landed, Hiccup unhooking himself and wobbling to the nearest wall, breathing heavily. Jack pranced over to him, sitting on the ground. Toothless crawled up to Hiccup, sitting in front of him, his big head tilted to the side in a confused stare.  
“Toothless, that was insane. Don’t try that one for so long next time.” Hiccup had closed his eyes, his breathing slowly going back to normal. Toothless purred and moved to nudge his rider.  
“Did you have fun though?” Jack asked, scooting a little closer to Hiccup. “I mean, did you enjoy the flying?”  
Hiccup nodded and opened his bright green eyes. He turned his head to look at Jack. “I did.” He turned his head back to Toothless, who still had a confused, wide eyed stare on his giant face. Toothless opened his mouth, giving off his toothless grin. He looked from one boy to the other. Jack smiled at Hiccup’s response.  
“Good.”  
Hiccup closed his eyes again and rested his head on the rough stone wall. His left leg was raised so his hooked foot was set firmly on the ground, and his arms were wrapped around his knee. Jack’s face began to heat up as he watched the boy. This position was adorable.  
The teens were laughing a good distance away. They hadn’t noticed Hiccup at all really. Jack wondered silently about the other teens. Toothless shook his head as he heard one of the boys reference Hiccup. His teeth came out and he growled lightly. The teens were too far away to hear though, and went on talking.  
Jack pushed himself off the ground and face Hiccup, who’s eyes were still closed. “I want to race you.” His voice was just above a whisper, but Hiccup could hear Jack clearly. He slowly opened his eyes, smirking. Toothless placed his head under his rider’s arm and helped him up into a standing position.  
“You’re on. But don’t be too upset when Toothless and I cream you. We are the fastest pair on Berk.”  
“Who are you gonna cream?” a deeper voice called out, causing Hiccup and Jack to jump. Hiccup winced slightly and turned to the tall skinny boy walking toward him, a malicious grin on his face. His hair was a dirty blonde, and Jack couldn’t tell if it was naturally that color, or if the kid had ever bathed. “I sure hope you weren’t gonna try me.” He finished with a crude smirk.  
“No… sorry Tuffnut. I was talking to Toothless.” Hiccup’s voice wavered slightly, but not enough for the other teen to notice.  
“Uh huh.” Tuffnut said, towering over the small Viking. “You know, if you did cream yourself, it would be a lot easier on all of us.” He laughed before turning away and joining the other teens as they began to head out of the pit. Jack frowned as Hiccup just sighed and turned back to Toothless.  
“Come on bud.”  
The dragon nodded, and began to walk to the entrance of the pit. The teens had stopped and were laughing loudly. As Hiccup walked past, Toothless growled menacingly at the boy Hiccup had called ‘Tuffnut’, and continued on his way. Jack followed close behind, shaking his head at the name. He glared at the boy, and focused on holding back the urge to freeze him on the spot. He took to the air as soon as Toothless did.  
“What was that guy’s problem?” Jack asked as they flew calmly through the air. Snow was beginning to flurry down around them as Jack tried to get his anger under control. When he was upset, he could cause a blizzard. That was not on his list of things to do today. “Why was he so mean to you?”  
“Oh, well…” Hiccup sighed, gripping Toothless’ saddle tighter. “They have never really liked me. It’s a long story.”  
Don’t ask. Toothless said, narrowing his eyes as Jack opened his mouth. “Then you explain, scaley.” Jack snapped, diving in front of the dragon and glaring at him. “Did he do something to make them hate him? I wanted to freeze him!”  
Hiccup looked at Jack, one eyebrow cocked.  
You will know soon enough. It is not my place to tell. It is something Hiccup will share when he is ready to. Do not press him.  
The intensity in Toothless’ voice stopped Jack. He pursed his lips, frowning. “Don’t worry… I won’t.” Jack said quietly, flying around to be beside Hiccup again. Snowflakes began to dance around the dragon, engulfing him in a blanket of white. Toothless growled in annoyance as Jack laughed. Hiccup gasped as Toothless lunged for Jack, who, still laughing, dodged the attack with ease.  
You will pay for this you overgrown snowflake.  
“Yes oh great and powerful White Fury!” Jack giggled, dodging Toothless once more and ceasing the small snowstorm. Toothless was covered with sticky snow, and Hiccup looked a bit like a deformed snowman. The snow on Hiccup however, flew off the second Jack sent a gust of wind his way. Hiccup shivered, but smiled in appreciation that the snow was no longer covering him. Jack let out a great whoop and dove to the earth, Toothless and Hiccup spiraling after him.

 

Hiccup let out a triumphant laugh as Toothless straightened out twenty feet from the ground, gliding lower and lower to the earth. Jack was flying in circles underneath them, laughing. His cheeks we slightly colored, not enough for anyone to notice, but enough to make him look alive. His eyes were shining like crystals. Hiccup smiled, happy to see the pure joy on Jack’s face.  
Their eyes met.  
Hiccup’s heart began to flutter wildly as his face began to heat up. What was happening? He had only had this reaction once, and that was when he had had a crush Astrid. But with Astrid, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to be with her as it was he wanted to be like her. Toothless had come around, and had taught him that being himself was the best thing.  
After the fight with the Red Death, Astrid had gotten attached to her Nadder, Stormfly. She seemed to shut everyone out unless she was at dragon training or racing. Everyone had kind of gotten that way, but Snotlout still tried to pursue her. Everyone went back to life the way it was before the Red Death.  
But, even though the feeling seemed similar to what he had felt for Astrid, Hiccup knew it was different. More intense, almost. This was more like what a crush would feel like. Hiccup shook himself internally. He couldn’t place the feeling, but he knew it couldn’t, shouldn’t be a crush on the snowy spirit.  
They were still gliding about five feet from the earth. “Jack let’s race home.” Hiccup called out, jumping slightly when a voice said behind him, “Okay. Go!”  
With a laugh, Jack launched himself away from Toothless, a gust of wind pushing into the giant dragon. A giant smile spread across his face as when he glanced behind and saw how close they stayed behind him.  
When they reached Hiccup’s home, Hiccup was out of breath, his nose and cheeks a bright pink from flying behind Jack and his freezing wind. He unhooked the harness from Toothless, and watched as his best friend bee-lined it for the hut. Jack was nowhere to be seen, and Hiccup assumed he had flown into the house already via his window.  
As Hiccup began to walk up to icy wooden steps into his home, he ran right into his father, sending him flying back down the stairs. Stoick grabbed Hiccup’s wrist just before he fell, pulling him upright once again. Hiccup blinked, breathing heavily.  
“Uh, thanks dad.” Hiccup muttered, looking up at the heavily bearded man. Stoick nodded his head motioned for Hiccup to go inside. Hiccup nodded and quickly hobbled into the warmth. The fire was blazing in the fireplace, the flames lapping hungrily at the dry wood. When Hiccup turned to look at his father after taking off his soaking wet and completely stiff sheepskin vest, Stoick simply sat down, his eyes focused on the blazing flames.  
“Son, there is something I need to talk to you about.”  
Hiccup sat down nervously. The last time he had heard those words; his father had put him into dragon training while he went out to find the dragon’s nest. That had ended in a mess that Hiccup had no wish to repeat. He glanced at the narrow steps leading to his bedroom. Had he seen Jack?  
Swallowing, Hiccup looked back at his dad. “What is it dad?”  
There was silence. The thickest, most uncomfortable silence Hiccup had ever endured. Toothless pulled the door open and lumbered to the top of the stairs, beginning the tread down looking down at the boy sitting uncomfortably in his chair. He froze upon seeing Stoick also sitting. Hiccup saw Jack jump quietly into the rafters, freezing when he saw Toothless freeze. Jack, however, was frozen on the rafter directly above Stoick’s head. Stoick didn’t seem to notice the snow haired teen above him, or the dragon standing awkwardly in the middle of the steps, and he began to speak.  
“I’m taking most of the adult Vikings on an expedition. We don’t have enough food to last the whole winter, with it coming so early. The fishing has all gone south, so we need to find different food.” Stoick’s eyes stared into Hiccup’s and Jack shifted nervously above him. Hiccup nodded.  
“How long do you expect to be gone?”  
Stoick seemed to be staring through Hiccup as he spoke. Hiccup seemed to be used to this, and he simply sighed.  
“We are leaving early in the morning. Some of us will be taking our dragons. I don’t know how long it will take, or when we will get back, but we will be back. And, with Thor’s blessing, with enough food for the village.” Stoick shook his head and put his giant hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, smiling. Hiccup forcefully returned the smile, trying to shift under the uncomfortable weight of his father’s hand.  
“I’m leaving Gobber in charge. If you need anything, go to him. Understand?”  
Hiccup nodded and Stoick removed his hand. “Well then, you should be off to bed. We both have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Must be ready for it.”  
Hiccup nodded again, standing slowly. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be here when you get back.” Stoick nodded, seeming to stare through his son again. Hiccup sighed and walked up the steps after Toothless, who had backed up the stairs when Hiccup had stood. Jack followed Hiccup in the rafters right behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Jack awoke to the feeling of warmth surrounding him. He knew one source was Toothless. He had been curled next to the beast, using him as a makeshift bed. Toothless had complained slightly the first night, and he and Jack had argued after Hiccup had gone to sleep. The dragon gave in however, seeing how much Jack had wanted to be close to Hiccup.  
The other source of warmth, however, felt like a soft blanket in between his arms. Jack opened his eyes a crack to examine the heat source. His staff was not in his arms, where it had been when he had gone to sleep. Nestled in his arms was something else.  
Hiccup was curled into Jack’s arms, sound asleep. His brown hair was tousled and his freckles could be seen clearly in contrast with his light skin.  
Jack let out his breath, unaware of when he had stopped breathing. Why wasn’t Hiccup in his bed? And why was he curled up into the cold body of Jack, when Toothless lay radiating heat not even a foot away?   
He came over about an hour ago. Jack struggled to keep still when the dragon spoke. He didn’t want to wake the boy. He was not sleeping well.  
Hiccup moved slightly in his sleep, making a noise that sounded like a slight sob. Jack took his limp body and pulled him closer to his own freezing one. Hiccup squirmed, but settled back into his sleep. He mumbled something inaudible and smacked his lips. Jack smirked and put his head down next to the boy’s.  
Hiccup’s scent was sweet. His hair smelled of pine trees and earth, as if his entire being had been sculpted from the dirt and clay of the ground surrounding the village. Jack smiled fully now, closing his eyes and he took in another light breath. He loved this smell.  
Downstairs, Stoick was clanking pots and things together, placing them in what Jack imagined were cloth bags. The muffled clangs and pitter patters of things being placed was an intriguing sound to him.  
“Is it because of Stoick?” Jack whispered, lifting his head slightly and opening his eyes. At the corner of vision Jack saw Toothless’ big head nod once.  
He is worried about his father. He WAS acting pretty strange last night.  
“Was he?” Jack questioned, taking his free hand and gently brushing Hiccup’s messy hair out of his face. Jack watched Hiccup’s breathing as he slept- how calm and steady it was. And deep. Hiccup’s face was so peaceful; Jack couldn’t help but wonder what he was dreaming about.  
Yes. Since Hiccup saved us all from the Red Death, Stoick has given him the attention and love that Hiccup never got. Stoick was looking through Hiccup last night was what he did almost all the time before the Red Death.  
“Us all?”  
Yes, all of the dragons that reside here in Berk, as well as his entire village. Back then, dragons were considered the enemy. But Hiccup changed that all.  
Jack nodded in understanding. He had watched the village of Berk every so often when he brought winter to them, and had remembered seeing Hiccup stumbling after the other teens. He hadn’t ever paid much attention to anyone in particular though. There were the times that Jack watched Hiccup try desperately to be helpful around the village, but always messed things up instead. He had always found it funny how hard Hiccup had tried.  
Hiccup mumbled again and rolled over in Jack’s arms. Jack’s eyes widened as he stared directly into Hiccup’s peaceful, sleeping face. Hiccup didn’t seem to notice or feel Jack’s cold skin. Jack didn’t mind cradling the warmth that was Hiccup. He just knew he had to be careful- he didn’t want to end up freezing the boy.  
“We don’t have to wake him, do we?” Jack asked quietly, breathing lightly. Toothless nodded.  
We don’t. But Stoick will.  
Jack could hear the loud thump of Stoick’s boots as they trudged up the steps to the room. Jack’s heart began to beat faster as he realized what would happen if Hiccup’s father could see him. Toothless seemed to register this thought as well, and as Jack screwed his eyes shut he placed his wing protectively over him. Jack silently thanked Toothless for the precaution as Stoick opened the door.  
Stoick’s fiery hair was tied behind his head, his beard flying out in all directions; like an aggravated explosion. His big frame seemed to slump just the slightest bit. Jack could see, through the protective shadow of Toothless’ wing, that there seemed to be very little life in the giant man- if there was any at all.  
Stoick just stood in the doorway, staring sadly at the little Viking lying on the floor, cuddling with Toothless’ wing. Hiccup stirred slightly. Jack tensed as Stoick tried to tiptoe into the room. Even though he tried to be quiet, Hiccup was startled awake, his eyes bugging out of his head.  
Stoick froze and looked down at the boy. His green eyes were lifeless and void of emotion. Hiccup hurried to stand in front of his father. Jack strained to see through Toothless’ black wing at what was happening with Hiccup and Stoick. Toothless warbled gently, reminding Jack to stay put.  
“Time to go?” Hiccup mumbled tiredly, rubbing his eyes slightly.  
“Aye. Odin help us with a fast and safe journey.”  
Jack squirmed just the slightest. He could feel Hiccup’s worried tension growing. Hiccup was silent, and Stoick was looking at everything in his son’s room, avoiding eye contact.  
“I’m gonna go now.” Stoick said finally, placing a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, the weight of his strength nearly causing his son to collapse. “I’ll be back…. Maybe.”  
“Dad, you aren’t fighting dragons anymore. You will be back.” Hiccup said firmly, “And I will be here when you get back.”  
Stoick nodded slowly, the meaning of Hiccup’s words sinking in. He turned to leave. Jack heard Hiccup take a deep breath and move. He strained to see what was happening. Hiccup had reached out and grabbed Stoick’s sheepskin vest. His face was masked into a strong look. Stoick froze and turned slowly. Hiccup wrapped his arms around Stoick’s big waist, burying his face in his father’s belly. Stoick smiled painfully and wrapped his big muscled arm around Hiccup’s fragile form.  
Jack’s watched in amazement as Stoick’s eyes began to water. Hiccup was still buried into his father’s stomach. After another moment passed by, Stoick cleared his throat and pulled away from Hiccup.  
“You be good. I’ll be back.”  
Hiccup nodded slowly, rubbing his hands across his face. His eyes were dry, and Jack knew how much Hiccup wanted to cry. Stoick returned the nod, turned, walked out the door and back down the stairs. Toothless kept his wing over Jack until Hiccup turned back to them.  
Jack smiled when Toothless’ wing unfolded and Hiccup came into view. His smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared, when he looked at Hiccup’s face. Instinctively, Jack’s arms opened in an invitation for Hiccup to come in for a hug. Hiccup wandered back to where Jack was now sitting, his eyes unseeing. He curled into Jack’s open arms. Once Hiccup was in Jack’s embrace, Jack’s arms came around the Viking’s small frame, holding him tight. Hiccup put his face into Jack’s cold shoulder, his body starting to shake.  
“It’s alright Hiccup. You’re okay. He will be back, safe and sound.” Jack’s hand went up to cradle Hiccup’s head. He buried his face into Hiccup’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Hiccup didn’t say anything. His body continued to shiver and shake with the tears he refused to shed.  
He is trying to be strong. Stoick is the only family he has left. Toothless purred gently, curling his body and tail around the two boys like a blanket. His yellow-green eyes were wide with worry. Jack turned his face slightly to meet eyes with the dragon, the worry mirrored in his own.  
Hiccup took a deep breath and pulled away from Jack’s embrace.  
“I’m sorry. I’m just a little nervous. And I didn’t sleep well.”  
Jack nodded. He gave Hiccup a reassuring smile. The Viking boy returned the smile, and Jack chuckled as he watched color seep into Hiccup’s cheeks. Toothless let out a laugh, revealing his toothless smile. Hiccup smiled at Toothless and pushed up to a standing position.  
“Are we ready Toothless?” Hiccup asked; his voice a bit shaky as he reached for his harness. Toothless leapt up and swished his tail rapidly. Jack laughed, watching the giant dragon act like a small kitten. “Alright Toothless. Calm down bud. You act as if we haven’t been flying in days. I don’t really feel like going to dragon training today, if you don’t mind.” Hiccup continued, looking at Jack.  
FINALLY. I have been waiting for him to want to just FLY. I hate the training that they seem to have so much fun in.  
Jack smirked. “Let’s have a snowball fight later, and I challenge you and Toothless to a race. If you think you can beat me.”  
Toothless growled. You are so childish. Hiccup smiled, his green eyes filling with life and determination. The fire in his eyes made the breath catch in Jack’s throat. Even though Hiccup was small, and even a bit awkward, the intensity of his emotions was fierce, rivaling the strength of the strongest dragon that ever was. It was a beautiful quality, if one could gauge that sort of thing.  
“You are on Jack Frost!”  
Toothless jumped to the door and ran down the stairs, Hiccup already on his back. Jack flew close behind them, narrowly avoiding getting smacked in the face with Toothless’ tail. As they paused at the front door, Jack walked to Toothless’ head. “So where exactly are we racing to?” The winter wonderland Jack had created in his sleep had covered any and every noticeable landmarks, so this race was already not looking to be in his favor.  
“We will race to the clearing where I first flew with Toothless. The only other person who knows its location is Astrid, and she doesn’t go there.” Hiccup stated, his face covered with a giant leather mask. Jack wished Hiccup would take the mask off, so the entirety of his face could be seen. He liked being able to see the smile on Hiccup’s face, the pink of his skin because of the wind blasting against it. But he remembered that Hiccup was a lot more fragile than he was. After all, Jack was a spirit, and Hiccup was, well, human.   
Jack nodded, realizing he had been lost in thought and now dragon and boy were looking at him. He bent his knees, ready to push off of the ground and into the sky.   
“Ready.” Jack said loudly, as they walked out the door, it closing with a heavy thud behind them.  
“Set.” Hiccup echoed, looking at Jack with playfully narrowed eyes.  
“GO!” They shouted together, With a roar, Toothless launched into the sky, his wings flapping deep and strong, Jack following on his heels, slight flurries flickering in the aftermath.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
The two boys flew neck and neck the entire way to the clearing. Jack let out a loud whoop as he plunged ahead of Toothless, and did a fancy twirl to face the dragon and his rider. Toothless’ eyes were slitted in concentration, beating his wings with intensity.  
Show off.  
Jack laughed again, twirling back around to look for the clearing, laughing when it came into view, seemingly out of nowhere. He dove down, his staff stuck at his side. Toothless was quick to follow. The clearing hadn’t been touched by Jack’s icy powers, it was still luscious and green and Jack was a bit puzzled as to why. The pond was not frozen; there wasn’t a patch of snow anywhere. As Jack got closer though, he noticed there was a great many scorch marks, and he had to guess they were all from Toothless.  
Jack heard a loud cry of laughter come from behind him. He glanced behind him at Hiccup.  
Thank you for the fun he needs Jack.  
Toothless shook his head, as if gesturing to his rider.  
“Hey, it’s no problem you overgrown lizard.” Jack joked. Toothless let out a burst of bright blue fire, barely missing the snowy teen.   
“HEY!” He glared at the beast in surprise.  
Next time I won’t miss.  
Jack nodded as he landed next to the giant circle of charred earth that Toothless’ fire had so brutally attacked. “Understood.” He mumbled, studying the burned earth before turning to look at the other two- a victorious smile playing at his lips, showing his teeth.  
“Jack Frost wins by a foot!” he animated, throwing his fist in the air, and jumping lightly. Hiccup unhooked his harness, jumped off Toothless and took the mask off of face. “What does Hiccup have to say about his loss?”  
“We let you win.” Hiccup stated, matter-of-factly, his eyes full of stubbornness. “I just didn’t want you to get mopey about losing.”  
“I don’t get mopey!” Jack scoffed, placing his hand on his hip, his staff held in the crook of his arm. Hiccup smiled, giggling slightly at how feminine Jack looked in that position.  
Yes you do.  
Jack rolled his eyes, turning to face the giant black beast. “No, I don’t.”  
Yes, Jack. You do. That is just one of the childish things you do.  
Toothless and Jack stopped their argument as Hiccup began to laugh, his hands grabbing his stomach. Jack began to blush slightly.  
“What is so funny, little Viking?” he demanded.  
“It’s nothing…. I… I could swear you two were having a real conversation.”  
“We were.”  
Hiccup stopped laughing and locked his wide green orbs with Jack’s bright blue ones. He was still for a moment, his mouth opened slightly in shock. “You mean, he talks back to you?” Jack glanced at Toothless, looking for assistance. The dragon’s eyes were slitted, and he was refusing to look at the snowy teen. Sighing, Jack nodded. Hiccup’s head shot back and forth between the white haired boy and his dragon.  
“How?” Hiccup whispered, lowering his head to look at the ground.  
“I think it has to do with me being a spirit. He talks to me like you talk to me- only a lot meaner.” Jack said, taking a step closer to Hiccup. Toothless growled. “I can’t really give a real answer, I’m sorry.” Jack put his hand in the air, palms up in a sign of confusion.  
“S’ok.” Hiccup muttered, refusing to look up, shuffling his prosthetic foot in the now thickening snow. Jack looked at Toothless, his blue eyes pleading for assistance.  
You got careless. Now you can fix it Jack.  
Jack sighed. He walked over to Hiccup, his feet making no noise as a visible trail of ice followed in his wake. Jack placed an icy hand on the boy’s shoulder. Hiccup looked up. His eyes looked pitiful, and Jack punched himself internally, knowing his slip had made Hiccup sad. He was trying to get Hiccup happy because he was having fun; not depressed because he couldn’t have a real conversation with his pet dragon.  
He took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks slightly. He slowly leaned in toward Hiccup, resisting the urge to laugh at Hiccup’s reaction. His eyes were getting wider, and his mouth was hanging open. Toothless growled again, baring his teeth.  
Jack ignored the dragon as he leaned next to Hiccup’s face, his cheek touching Hiccup’s, lightly. He paused for a moment, and then blew his frosty breath just past Hiccup’s ear. Hiccup yelped in surprise and jumped backwards, his face and ears turning a bright shade of heated red.  
Jack’s eyes gleamed as he laughed and danced away, floating in the cold, crisp air. Hiccup glared at Jack before he reached down and pulled up a handful of fluffy white snow. Jack watched closely as Hiccup packed the snow carefully, making it a perfect ball. He began to inch slowly to the snowy teen. When he thought Jack was close enough, Hiccup launched the ball right into Jack’s face.  
Toothless let out a roaring laugh as Jack sputtered, wiping the snow from his face.  
“Now, for our snowball fight.” Hiccup challenged, a smile creeping onto his face.  
“Oh, you are on little Viking. You are on.” Jack laughed, grabbing his own handful of snow. He threw it carelessly toward Hiccup, not fully intending to hit him in the face, but doing so anyway. Hiccup fell onto snow covered ground, the wind whistling out of his mouth as he hit the frozen earth. Toothless growled and crouched over the boy, his teeth bared at Jack.  
You better watch what you do Jack.  
“That was an accident! I swear!” Jack cried, placing his staff carefully on the ground, placing his hands out in front of himself.  
Just then, the sun rose over the rocky ridge that enclosed the little clearing. It sparkled off of the pure white snow with a blinding light. Hiccup squinted as he looked to find Jack.  
“Are you looking for something?” Jack whispered into Hiccup’s ear, smiling when the brunette started and turned to glare at him.  
“No. I wasn’t.” Hiccup’s voice was tense, trying to hold his voice back from squeaking.  
“Good.” Jack handed him another snowball and leapt away. Toothless was sitting on his back legs, watching Jack intently. Jack took a snowball and chucked it lightly at the fire breather, expecting him melt it before it touched him. With a light splash, the little ball hit Toothless smack dab in the middle of his giant nose.  
Toothless snorted.  
Are you ready to die now? I told you to watch it.  
“Aww come on Toothless! I was just trying to get you to have some fun.”  
As he finished this sentence, Hiccup lobbed a slightly larger than normal snowball at Jack’s head. Jack turned his head to look at Hiccup and ran right into it, losing his balance and slipping onto his rear.   
“Ow.” He muttered, rubbing the sore spot gently before getting back up and throwing three snowballs in rapid succession, all hitting their mark, Hiccup’s chest, arms and leg.  
Toothless leapt into action, catching Hiccup before the boy fell. Hiccup’s face was pink from the cold, but he couldn’t stop laughing; a smile plastered onto his face. Jack smiled, knowing this was giving Hiccup a break from worrying about Stoick, or dragon training. It was just him, Toothless and the snowy haired spirit.  
The rest of the morning was spent throwing snowballs at each other; Hiccup hiding behind the great dragon: Toothless. In Jack’s case, it was spent running from the hot blasts of said dragon. When after noon hit, they took a break, fishing in the pond for food, and using Toothless’ hot fire to cook. After their lunch, the boys built a snow fort, big enough for Toothless to fit in, built with an opening for him to blast his blazing balls of fire.  
By the time the sun fell upon the gorge of the clearing, Hiccup was freezing and soaked from the snow filled day. When they decided to go back home, the sun was setting everywhere else. Jack rode on Toothless, behind Hiccup, who was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open.  
That night, as he got ready to sleep, all Jack could think of was how much he loved watching Hiccup, and how much the smile that had been plastered on his face had made him feel.   
And then he realized- he didn’t just love watching Hiccup and making him smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Hiccup smiled as he awoke from a good night’s sleep. It had been a few days since his father had left, and the snow day with Jack. He had had many wonderful new adventures with Jack since then, but none came even close to rivaling that first day in the clearing. Hiccup was happy. Jack was sound asleep, but not on or even next to Toothless. Jack, in all of his innocent wonder, was curled up next to Hiccup’s body.  
In the nights after Stoick left, Hiccup had fallen asleep every night next to Jack. He would wake every morning, as close to the boy as he could possibly go. Hiccup loved the secure feeling he had when Jack was holding him close, so Hiccup had wondered if it would be different if Jack was the one being held.  
Jack had been extremely wary of the idea. He had mentioned his cold skin on more than one occasion, but Hiccup didn’t mind. In fact, he enjoyed the cool touch as much as he enjoyed flying on Toothless.  
“We can try it, just this once. But you have to promise to be careful. Bundle up your arms or something, so I don’t end up freezing you.”  
Hiccup had done as Jack had instructed, but as soon as the teen was asleep, he took off the bundles and felt the cool skin on his bare arms. Toothless had watched intently as he did this, and Hiccup had silently begged the dragon not to make any noise indicating he was sneaking around Jack’s rule of protection. Thankfully, his best friend was still on his side.  
Toothless was now fast asleep in his corner, his ear flaps twitching ever so slightly. Hiccup watched quietly, his eyes scanning around the dark room. He was certain the sun wasn’t out yet, but he could see the tiny white flecks of something floating lazily in the air. Jack must have been having a really good dream. Hiccup wondered what it was about, and then shook the thought away. Why should he care what the snowy haired boy was thinking? Why was he even awake anyway?  
He watched the snowflakes swirling calmly around his room. They were melting before they hit the ground, but instead of snow, there were small puddles of water here and there all over the floor. Hiccup sighed silently, grateful his dad wasn’t home to see this. This would take a lot of work to explain.  
Jack tensed, causing Hiccup to look down. The white haired teen was still sleeping. His lips were slightly parted, and they were a light shade of pink. Hiccup was entranced by the contrasting color of Jack’s lips with the rest of his skin. Jack’s brow was slightly furled into a frown. Hiccup moved his arm and pulled Jack closer to himself, burying his face in the boy’s white hair.  
He inhaled, the faint smell of peppermint filling his nostrils.  
Hiccup closed his eyes, focusing on the smell. He had peppermint every year for Snoggletog, but it was always a more overpowering scent. This peppermint was even better smelling than his Snoggletog treat.   
Jack’s breathing was so constant, and so soft; Hiccup had to really listen to even hear him breathing at all. How was it even possible for someone to breathe that quietly? Hiccup’s head began to swim with questions, and some of them he felt weren’t welcome.  
Jack rolled over, so his body was facing Hiccup. The frown disappeared off of Jack’s face and Hiccup smiled. He looked so calm. His breath was cool as he exhaled gently into Hiccup’s face. Hiccup reached out his hand and gently touched the pale boy’s face. His skin was soft, but in a numbing way. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was strange.  
Hiccup’s heart gave a small flutter. The idea of doing this every day; of feeling Jack’s cool skin on his own, seeing the lively spark in his eyes, the snow days filled with fun and adventure, was something he liked very much. It was an idea he hated to like. Wasn’t he supposed to become the next chief? Doesn’t that mean he needed a wife, to bear sons?  
Even as he thought about that, he knew it wasn’t his lifestyle. He had always been different. And, he had lost interest in Astrid, which was the only girl who had ever caught his attention. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to find a woman. Hiccup’s heart fluttered again, and his stomach churned uneasily.  
If that was the case, then he wouldn’t be able to face his father. There would be no sons to continue as chief. Stoick would not take that well. But he wasn’t there right now… so maybe he could work it out? Figure out what he was going to do.  
Jack moved again, drawing Hiccup out of his dizzying thoughts. As Jack snuggled closer to Hiccup, the brunette realized that all Jack had wanted was to not be alone. How long had the boy been alone? How long had he been wandering around the world, longing for the warm embrace of a hug, for someone to know he was there?  
Hiccup remembered when all he had wanted was the affection of his father, and the acceptance of his tribe. Thirteen years of longing had felt like an eternity. He had some sort of acceptance, and his father did pay more attention to him, but he still didn’t have what he had truly wanted. Jack was a bit different.  
He was a spirit. He could have been around for hundreds of years already. Hiccup had never really thought to ask. If he was hundreds of years old, of course he would be longing for the attention and warmth that Hiccup could give. But, if no one else could see Jack, then how come he could?  
Hiccup frowned slightly, trying to come up with an answer.  
“He talks to me like you talk to me-only a lot meaner.”  
Hiccup sighed, remembering. It probably did have something to do with Toothless. As he turned his head to look back at the sleeping boy, Hiccup’s eyes met with Jack’s. They were brighter than he had ever seen them, and clear enough that Hiccup could see his own surprised face peering back. His breath caught in his throat.  
Hiccup forced himself to breath, and smiled. Jack returned the smile, his white teeth shining like freshly fallen snow. Hiccup beat himself up for that horrible analogy of the boy’s teeth; they were, after all, just teeth. He could feel the color rising to his face, and Hiccup forced himself to look down to the small space that separated the boy’s bodies.  
“Good morning.” Jack mumbled, shifting slightly. He reached out a hand and brushed the hair off Hiccup’s face.  
“M-morning.” Hiccup stuttered slightly, urging his heart to stop beating so loud. He heard Toothless grumble as he got up. The beast froze upon seeing both boys already awake, shook his head and sat back down. Jack’s smile got even bigger.  
How could Jack be so happy? Jack’s smile always seemed biggest when he was around Hiccup, even though the boy had really done nothing for him. Hiccup lamented silently, soaking in Jack’s sparkling eyes.  
Toothless looked from one boy to the other, his pupils narrowed. It wasn’t a menacing look; Hiccup knew the dragon meant no harm to wither boy, but it didn’t seem very kind either. Hiccup’s eyebrows shot up, first in surprise and then in confusion. Toothless had never given him this look before. Annoyed, yes. Angry, even. But never this. Hiccup couldn’t even be sure if it was stern.  
Jack frowned and rolled over to face Toothless, who just warbled grumpily. Jack nodded slightly, and closed his eyes. In an instant he shot up to a sitting position. Toothless’ ear flaps were raised and he was looking at the door.  
“What?” Hiccup asked, slightly shocked at how quickly the boy had moved.  
Before Jack could answer, a girl’s voice cut through the air. Hiccup jumped when he realized the voice was not only in his house, but coming up the stairs.  
“Hiccup? We need you to help melt the snow. It really came down last night, and Stormfly is already at her shot limit just getting to you. The village is almost completely snowed in.”  
Astrid strode into the room moments later, just as Jack leapt into the rafters, leaving a dent in the mattress where he had been laying. Hiccup wasn’t fast enough to cover Jack’s tracks, and Astrid’s eyes widened as she looked at the dent, and then to Hiccup. Hiccup closed his eyes and sighed. There was no way Astrid was going to understand any of this.  
Astrid’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish, her eyes seeing yet not seeing anything except the now fading dent in the bed and Hiccup.  
“Listen Astrid, it- it isn’t what you think.” Hiccup said, looking at Astrid’s frozen figure, a look of terror on her face. He was glad she didn’t have her axe in its holster today.  
“Is it Ruffnut? Heather? Or a different girl?” Astrid whispered, her blue eyes dropping to the ground. Hiccup smiled slightly, noticing her eyes were similar to Jack’s, the latter being a much brighter hue.  
Jack shifted in the rafters, peering out of the shadows at the two. Toothless hadn’t moved from where he had lain down, but he watched Astrid carefully. Hiccup’s smile dropped from his face as Astrid looked back up. He cleared his throat nervously.  
“No, Astrid. I told you, it’s not what you think. I’m letting him stay here for a little while. I knew I could help-”  
“He?” Astrid said, her voice rising almost a full octave as her eyes widened even more. She took a step back, “What do you mean, he?”  
Toothless looked up toward Jack and smiled his toothless grin. Hiccup glanced up and saw Jack press himself to the wall. Astrid looked up too, but quickly looked back to Hiccup in confusion.  
“Hiccup. You just got to not being a failure at everything. Don’t screw this up like you have with the entirety of your life. You are acting weird again. Though that doesn’t explain that.” Astrid gestured to the place where the dent had once been.  
Hiccup heard Jack let out a quiet breath and out of the corner of his eye saw him move out of the shadows a bit. Hiccup pulled the covers off of his skinny frame, revealing his bare chest and his dark wool pants. Hiccup shivered as he placed his bare foot on the cold floor, followed by his prosthetic leg.  
He stood in front of Astrid, standing up to his full height-which was still shorter than the girl by a good two inches at least- and crossed his arms over his chest. He locked eyes with Astrid, his green orbs full of determination.  
“I am not going crazy Astrid. Jack is just as real as you, or me, or even Toothless.” Toothless looked over to Hiccup and snorted, his yellow-green eyes narrowing to slits. Hiccup ignored the protest of his dragon and stared straight into Astrid’s now paling face. Astrid shook her head in awe.  
“Jack?”  
Hiccup nodded his head.  
“Who is Jack?”  
Jack shifted again, letting himself fully out of the shadows now. Astrid didn’t seem to notice him at all. When Jack realized this, he leapt lightly to the floor next to her, a mysterious smirk playing on his lips. Hiccup found this smirk all too cute.  
“You know what, I don’t want to know. Just come help melt the snow and unbury us from this winter horrorland.”  
“HEY!” Jack exclaimed, looking at Astrid with his eyes narrowed. Hiccup chuckled lightly and turned to his dresser. Toothless watched in slight interest as Hiccup opened the dresser and pulled out a slightly oversized grass green shirt. He pulled it over his head, rolling up his sleeves and then brushed his fingers through his nappy hair.  
“Alright Astrid, I’ll be down shortly.”  
Astrid nodded and turned away quickly. Jack watched her go, his frown deepening as she walked right through him. Hiccup gasped, causing Astrid to turn and look at him.  
“What now Hiccup?”  
“N-nothing Astrid. Just got a chill is all. I’ll be down.” Astrid nodded again and walked out of the room and down the stairs. The two boys and dragon were frozen and silent until they heard Astrid open the door and shuffle into the cold.  
“She walked right through you.” Hiccup whispered, his knees shaking slightly. Jack nodded.  
“It’s been happening for so long now. I’m used to it.”  
“Jack, why does it happen? How long is so long?”  
Jack sighed and looked at the floor. “They don’t believe I exist. I’m not real to them. They can’t hear, see, smell or touch me. And I’ve been awake for about fifty, sixty years now.”  
“But how could I see, when I didn’t believe?”  
Jack looked up and met Hiccup’s eyes. Hiccup’s mouth dried as he stared into Jack’s blue orbs. He felt the heat rising in his face, but he didn’t care anymore. He was worried for Jack.  
“I don’t know why. I don’t care either way, because you can see me. I do have my suspicions though.”  
“Oh.” Hiccup broke Jack’s gaze and looked at the floor. He moved his prosthetic leg clumsily. Jack chuckled lightly as he moved forward. Hiccup looked up as the wintery boy wrapped him in a giant hug. Hiccup stood awkwardly in Jack’s embrace.  
Oh how he wanted to press his face into Jack’s neck. Hiccup’s heart sped up. What was he thinking? Was he really so desperate for attention and love that he would fall for a spirit? Get it under control Hic.  
Jack pulled away and chuckled lightly, flicking Hiccup’s nose playfully. “You are so cute, little Viking.” The frown disappeared off of Hiccup’s face. He rolled his eyes and turned to Toothless, who had the harness clamped in his mouth.  
“I am glad I know you Hiccup.”   
Hiccup smiled, but didn’t turn around. He nodded his head and took the harness from Toothless’ mouth, and slipping it over his head. “You ready to go bud?” Toothless wagged his tail wildly, knocking it into the wall.  
“Should I wait here then?” Jack asked, leaning his back against Hiccup’s dresser, his staff held loosely in his hand.  
“If you don’t make it snow anymore today, you can come with. I don’t think we have to worry about people seeing you with me and freaking out. Apparently you did a number last night.”  
Jack smiled and jumped over to Toothless. He hopped up and down, switching his lands between his right and left foot. “I promise.”Hiccup walked down the narrow steps to the front door. “Good.” He opened the door and looked at the wide white expanse beyond his hut. Toothless warbled gently, and Hiccup sighed. “Then let’s get going.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Hiccup sat on his bed, a frown forming on his face. Jack had run off somewhere about halfway through defrosting Berk, and hadn’t shown back up. He and Toothless had gone out to try to find the mischievous snow spirit, but had not found a trace of him. Toothless rested his head in Hiccup’s lap, grunting lightly.  
“Sorry bud. I was just thinking. Where could he have gone?” Hiccup scratched Toothless’ head gently. Toothless grumbled again, sensing that wasn’t the only thing bugging his little rider.  
“Yeah… you’re right. What he said before about believing. If he knows they don’t believe, then why does he go through all the trouble of hiding?” Toothless warbled quietly, swishing his tail lightly. Hiccup didn’t seem to notice as he continued, “Why is it every time we meet eyes my heart seems to explode? You know, how I used to be with Astrid? Yeah, it’s like that. But, bigger, I guess. I’m supposed to be the next chief. I need to find a woman and have sons. But the more I think about trying to find a woman; I get this sinking feeling in my stomach- like I’m not supposed to find a one. Odin help me.”  
Hiccup sighed and dropped his hand from Toothless’ head. He looked to his window, which still had a slight layer of frost from the morning. Hiccup’s heart clenched tight in his chest. What was this feeling?  
“I miss him Toothless, but why? What’s going on with me Toothless?”  
Toothless rolled his head and went to his bed in the corner. He curled into a ball and stared at Hiccup intently. Hiccup watched Toothless, a look of confusion replacing his frown. Toothless didn’t move. The look he gave was a knowing one. He didn’t blink.  
“Oh really?” Hiccup sighed, turning his head to look out the window once more. “Are you just gonna say that too? Why does everything seem to point to the one thing that shouldn’t be. Are you saying I’m in love with Jack Frost?” He turned to look back at his dragon, his green eyes wide as his heart did a little flutter.  
“Toothless.”  
Toothless didn’t move, except to close his eyes.  
“I’m in love with Jack Frost.” Hiccup sighed again and went over to the window. It overlooked almost all of Berk. From his window the ocean looked like a black sheet of glass, and the moon shone so brightly- illuminating the surrounding snow and making sparkle.  
“It’s a beautiful night. It kind of has a romantic look to it. Jack would love to go play in the snow tonight. I would love to play in the snow.”  
Toothless raised his head to look out the window. He stared for a moment, and then shook his head, resting it on his left leg. He closed his eyes once more, warbling softly.  
“Toothless. How can I be in love with Jack?” Toothless opened his eyes lazily to look at his rider. “How is that even possible?”  
It was quiet for a moment, and Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh.  
“I wonder how dad is doing.” Hiccup mumbles into his hand as he rested his chin in it. He rose, and leapt into the window sill with ease, allowing his prosthetic leg to wing slightly back and forth. He pressed his thin frame into the corner of the sill, and looked out at the black ice that was the ocean.  
“It seems colder now he isn’t here.”  
Toothless’ ear flaps twitched slightly. But the dragon was too tired to move. It had been a long day of melting snow. Hiccup knew that if it had been a hard day for him, it would have been hard on Toothless. He didn’t bother with trying to talk to the big dragon.  
“I wonder when he will get back. Where did he go?” Hiccup whispered to himself. His eyelids were heavy as he tried to stay awake.  
*** ***  
Hiccup opened his eyes when he felt cool arms pick him up. Subconsciously, he knew it was Jack, but he had to look…. Just to be sure.  
“It’s good to know you tried to wait for me little Viking.” Jack’s voice was soft like the snow that was falling once more outside. Hiccup smiled, his face feeling heavy. Knowing Jack was back comforted him, and soon he was fighting sleep again.  
“I missed you.”  
Jack gently set him on the bed. Hiccup let go of Jack’s neck and waited for the boy to lie beside him. He had no clue how his arms had gotten around Jack’s neck in the first place, but he hardly worried about that now. All Hiccup knew was Jack was back.  
Jack sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping dragon in the corner.  
“How come?”  
The sudden question shocked Hiccup into opening his eyes wide and looking at the white haired boy’s back. The brown cloak was shining in the moonlight with the frost that coated it. His mouthed opened slightly, and then closed. Hiccup began to sit up. Jack turned and placed his pale, cool hand on Hiccup’s chest.  
“You don’t have to answer that Hiccup.” Jack whispered, “I was just curious. Did you think I wasn’t coming back?”  
Hiccup nodded slightly, just enough that Jack could see.  
“I was afraid you wouldn’t. You just left, and I didn’t know where to- or why. I thought maybe you had gotten bored of me. Or of Berk in general.”  
Hiccup’s vision began to blur as unwelcome tears rose to his eyes. Jack looked into Hiccup’s eyes and said nothing.  
“I was afraid that you left because it wasn’t enough that only I could see you. I guess I was just overreacting but I still worried because other than Toothless, you are the only one-”  
“Hiccup.”  
Jack’s quiet interruption froze Hiccup’s words in his throat. He stared at Jack, his mind speeding like a jack rabbit. He watched as an innocent and sad smile crept across the boy’s features.  
“I’m sorry to have frightened you. It wasn’t my intention.”  
Jack leaned over Hiccup, his arm holding his weight on the other side of the small boy. Hiccup took small gulps of air, trying to steady his speeding heart.  
“I just wanted to make you something to remember me by since I have to go bring winter to places like Moscow and England.”  
“What? Where?” Hiccup sat up so quickly he almost hit Jack in the face. “You are leaving? When? You are coming back?”  
Jack nodded.  
“Yeah. I have to leave soon. A few more days at least. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with that.”  
Hiccup’s body relaxed a little. He looked around, tying to find the “gift” Jack had made.  
“So you left to make me a gift? How come you didn’t just say so?”  
Jack chuckled quietly, running his icy hand through Hiccup’s hair. Hiccup closed his eyes, enjoying the cool feeling running over his scalp.  
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”  
“Well what is it?”  
Jack snickered and held out a small figure. Hiccup took it and brought it close to his face, inspecting the ice cold thing.  
It was a small figurine, so exquisite in detail that Hiccup thought it was a real person. It was a boy, with a shawl, and cutoff pants just below the knees, with frozen bands wrapped around the ends. The figure was barefoot, and he was holding a long staff that curled at the ends. His hair was short, yet shaggy, and there was even a smile on his frozen face.  
As Hiccup memorized every detail, he realized what he was looking at. His eyes lit up as he gently ran his finger over the smiling figure’s lips.  
“Jack, it’s a mini you.” Hiccup breathed, looking up to meet the other boy’s gaze. He could see the happiness in Jack’s eyes.  
“That isn’t all.”  
Jack held out another small thing. Hiccup took it gently, tucking the mini Jack into a fold on his pants.  
This new piece of ice was a thick prism, about two inches in length. Frozen inside the center of the prism was a giant snowflake. As Hiccup stared at the snowflake, he could see hundreds of tiny flecks floating around. He looked at Jack, his green eyes wide with wonder and awe.  
“It took me over ten thousand snowflakes and ice crystals to make the mini me. I wanted it perfect. The prism took over a hundred thousand snowflakes. If you shake it, the snowflake turns into a flurry.”  
Hiccup shook the prism gently, and gasped as the tiny flecks swirled around the perimeter of the giant snowflake.  
“Wow.”  
“If you wrap it with some cord, you could wear it. As like, a good luck charm maybe. It won’t melt as long as I live. Neither of them will. Even if the smoking lizard over there were to blaze them.”  
Hiccup threw his arms around Jack’s neck, throwing him off balance and knocking them to the floor. The thud caused Toothless to wake with a start, his eyes wide and pupils slitted, looking for danger. What he found instead was Jack Frost, pinned to the ground by Hiccup. Hiccup’s face was buried into Jack’s neck, his face turning a heated red.  
Toothless’ ear flaps lay flat against his head and he grumbled noisily as he lay back down. Jack snickered quietly.   
“Umm… Hiccup?” Jack breathed, wrapping an arm awkwardly around Hiccup’s waist and pushing himself up into a sitting position with the other.  
“Yes Jack?” Hiccup pulled his face away from Jack’s collarbone, and looked into Jack’s bright blue orbs, seeing his own green ones reflected back at him. His almost seemed to sparkle. Hiccup smiled widely.  
Toothless was watching the two boys intently from the corner, his big eyes not leaving Jack’s form.  
“Do you like it?” Jack whispered nervously, dropping his gaze.  
“Jack. I love it. Thanks.” Jack looked up and met Hiccup’s eyes once more, this time with a smile on his face.  
“I have a question. It has been bugging me all day.” This time Hiccup was the one to drop his gaze. He felt his heart squeezing in hard palpitations.  
“What is it Hiccup?” Jack placed his hand under Hiccup’s chin, forcing him to look back into those twin pools of sparkling blue. Hiccup swallowed and took a deep breath.  
“Remember how you were talking about how no one can see you because they don’t believe?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Well, if that is the case, then why do you hide?”  
Jack was quiet. Toothless rolled his big eyes and looked away. Hiccup stared at Jack, waiting for an answer. What was taking so long to respond?  
Finally, Jack spoke.   
“I guess I’m just afraid. If someone were to see, you could get into a lot of trouble Hiccup. That isn’t what I want at all.”  
“Trouble? I know it would be a bit strange to explain, but this is a unique situation. I don’t think it would be trouble, so to speak.”  
“I don’t want you to have to deal with a confrontation like earlier today.”  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, sighing. There was no getting anywhere with this kid.  
“Jack. I want to tell you something.”  
Jack looked at Hiccup, his eyes widening in worry. “Yes, Hiccup?”  
Hiccup took a deep breath. His heart began to race as he looked into Jack’s blue pools. He felt himself leaning closer to Jack, their eyes locked.   
What am I doing? Hiccup thought as he continued to lean in. He froze as his nose touched Jack’s cold one.  
Jack blinked rapidly in surprise; Hiccup returned the gesture, blinking quickly to gather his emotions. He could feel Jack’s cool breath on his lips, and Hiccup could hear his own heart racing in his ears. Jack’s face was starting to darken in color.  
“Hiccup… what are you-”  
Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and leaned in, pressing his lips into Jack’s and stopping him mid- sentence. Toothless had turned to look, and had then screwed his eyes shut. He opened one eye, to make sure to monitor the situation.  
Jack sat frozen for a moment, and Hiccup’s mind began to panic. What if he didn’t feel the same way? Just as Hiccup began to pull away, he felt Jack’s grip tighten and pull him closer. Their lips met again, and this time Jack kissed back. Hiccup let out the smallest of squeaks as Jack pressed in harder, his cool lips soft on his warm ones.  
Fireworks exploded inside Hiccup’s head, and all he could feel was Jack’s cool embrace surrounding him and his cool lips gently caressing his own. When Jack broke the contact, Hiccup was left panting slightly. His head was spinning with bright colors of emotions running rampant. His heart was beating hard and fast, like it was running a race it couldn’t possibly win.  
“You should get some sleep little Viking.” Jack whispered, picking Hiccup up and placing him back onto the bed.  
Hiccup sighed and rolled onto his side, allowing room for Jack to lie beside him. Jack obliged, allowing Hiccup to wrap his arms around his waist. Hiccup rested his face next to Jack’s head, closing his eyes. He pulled Jack closer, remembering the feel of his cool lips pressed onto his own. Hiccup sighed and tightened his grip.  
“I love you Jack.” He whispered into the snowy boy’s hair.  
Jack rolled over to face Hiccup. Hiccup didn’t notice, until he felt Jack’s soft lips lightly touch his own. They were amazingly soft. Hiccup parted his lips slightly, exhaling his warm breath gently into Jack’s mouth. Jack did the same, his cool breath sending shivers down Hiccup’s spine and giving him goose bumps.  
Jack’s tongue gently touched the edge of Hiccup’s teeth, almost teasing him. Hiccup pulled Jack as close as he could, his heart pounding in his ears. He opened his mouth a little wider, gently pushing his tongue into Jack’s cool mouth. Jack didn’t seem to mind, and he retaliated by pushing his own tongue into Hiccup’s mouth.  
Suddenly, Jack broke away from the kiss. He gently petted Hiccup’s hair, smoothing it down and moving it out of his eyes. Hiccup groaned quietly in complaint, but closed his eyes. Jack watched as the small boy fell asleep, only closing his eyes when he was sure the boy was fast asleep. Hiccup was still holding the Jack figurine tightly in his hand, the prism had somehow been placed next to Jack’s staff.  
“I love you too Hiccup.”  
Jack smiled as he fell asleep, letting snow begin to drift throughout the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
“AHHHHHH!”  
Hiccup woke with a start as a loud, high pitched scream broke through the peaceful silence. Toothless’ eyes were wide as he stared at the doorway. Jack leapt out of bed and grabbed his staff in one movement. He stood in front of Hiccup, posed for a fight. He relaxed only slightly upon seeing who it was.  
Astrid stood completely still, her eyes giant blue saucers, her arms stuck straight at her sides. Her mouth was open wide, her face a mask of horror. Her axe was in its holster today, much to Hiccup’s dismay.  
“A-a-Astrid!” Hiccup stuttered, glancing around Jack nervously. Could she see him?  
“Hiccup! Who is that?” Astrid’s voice was strained as she tried to speak in a normal tone.  
Hiccup’s and Jack’s mouths dropped open for a brief second before Hiccup shook his head. “Y-you can s-see him?” Hiccup’s eyes began to widen in confusion, then in fear.  
“Of course I can see him you idiot. Why wouldn’t I see him?”  
“Well, you didn’t see him yesterday. Wait, what are you doing here?”  
Jack moved over so he was standing next to Hiccup, his eyes locked on Astrid’s form. The axe glistened in its holster.  
Astrid’s eyes narrowed at Hiccup. “What?” she said, disbelief coating every syllable she spoke, “Wha- that is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, especially from you.”  
“But it’s true! Astrid, you have to believe me. You walked right through him!”  
“Who did Astrid walk through?”  
Astrid turned to see Tuffnut and Snotlout entering Hiccup’s room. Ruffnut followed behind, her hair swinging lazily with every step.  
“Oh come on! Does my room have a sign that says privacy is optional?”  
Jack snickered and Toothless rolled his eyes, his big head rolling too. He got up and stretched slightly, whipping his tail across the length of the room. He went and sat next to Hiccup, who was still sitting in his bed, the blanket he had covering his bare chest. His teeth were not out, but his eyes were slitted as he looked from one teen to the next.  
“Chill out Hiccup.” Snotlout said, his eyes narrowing at his cousin. “We just came to see why Astrid was screaming.”  
“Hiccup is sleeping with a boy!” Astrid said, not missing a beat. She pointed to Jack, who only straightened up and began to lean on his staff, a huge, toothy smile on his face.  
Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and started to snicker. Snotlout looked from Astrid to Hiccup to Toothless and back again, his eyebrows cocked up in surprise. Hiccup moved forward slightly, looking at Jack through the corner of his eye.  
“Astrid, there isn’t anyone over there but Hiccup and Toothless.” Snotlout grabbed Astrid’s arm in an attempt to comfort her.  
“No he isn’t Snotlout. He is right there. I can see him. He has freaky white hair, blue eyes, pale skin. He isn’t wearing any shoes- no socks either. He has some sort of long curved stick.”  
“Staff.” Jack corrected; his smile widening.  
“He just corrected me! I swear on Odin’s ghost!”  
“Astrid, look. You are seeing things. Maybe you are getting sick.” Snotlout said, backing away. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were bursting with laughter and turning to leave. Jack shook his head, in what Hiccup guessed was sympathy.  
“I swear you guys, he is right here.” Astrid turned to look at the other teens. When she saw them moving away from her, she turned back to Hiccup. Her eyes were wide, and tears began to form. “Hiccup, tell them. Please.”  
The teens froze, and stared at Hiccup, who cleared his throat nervously. He slowly rose out of bed, his bare chest prickling from the sudden cold. Jack turned his head and reached his right hand out, wrapping it lightly around his waist. The cool touch gave Hiccup’s heart a jump start. He suddenly felt the courage he needed to tell his friends.  
The boy who trained a dragon and defeated the Red Death needs encouragement to tell his friends about a spirit. Great. Hiccup thought miserably as he stepped forward out of Jack’s embrace.  
He took a deep breath, and looked at Snotlout. Then he looked at Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Their eyes were locked on him, and Astrid’s eyes were beginning to really glisten.  
“Astrid isn’t seeing things. Jack is real. He is right here. But he isn’t exactly human.”  
Jack winced as he heard those words come out of Hiccup’s mouth. Astrid noticed and frowned. Her eyes were beginning to dull again, the glisten from the tears leaving.  
“Well, if he is here, then where is he?” Snotlout asked, his voice taught as he tried to keep from laughing.  
Hiccup frowned, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Well, you see, i-it’s a bit dif-difficult to explain.” He stuttered, shuffling his prosthetic leg across the floor, trying to distract himself from the glares he was receiving.  
Jack reached out to touch Hiccup. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Hiccup had said it would be strange to explain this. Now he was beginning to understand why Jack had been so cautious. What had caused the switch in Astrid?  
Jack is as real as you, or me, or even Toothless.  
Had what he said the day before have an impact on her thoughts? Did she believe him that Jack was real, just by seeing the dent in the bed? Did it have something to do with her dragon, as Hiccup suspected it was with Toothless?  
Toothless gave Hiccup a small nudge, drawing him back out of his thoughts and to the present. He still had to explain Jack to everyone.  
Snotlout had walked past Astrid, and was now almost directly in front of Hiccup, stopping only because of the warning growl Toothless let loose.  
“Explain then Hiccup.”  
Hiccup looked into Snotlout’s broad face. His Viking helmet sat crooked on his head, and his eyes- a light green-grey color- were menacing.  
“He is a spirit-the bringer of winter. His name is Jack Frost. He has been living with me since my dad left; he comes to dragon training with me and Toothless.”  
“So Stoick doesn’t know?” Astrid’s voice was soft as she looked at Jack. He let his eyes drop slightly, refusing to meet her gaze. Hiccup nodded.  
“Dad can’t see him. He doesn’t believe Jack exists. Just like you guys, and Astrid, until today.”  
“I think you’re lying. Prove it.” Snotlout’s voice was thick with anger.  
“I, I can’t. You have to believe.” Hiccup said quietly, his eyes dropping to the floor again. Jack frowned, seeing Hiccup under so much stress.  
“That’s what I thought. This isn’t real. you made it all up, cause you’re so pathetic.”  
Jack had heard enough. Raising his staff over his head, he slammed it down onto the floor. An explosion of ice spread out from where his staff had come into contact with the floor, freezing Snotlout’s feet where they stood. Astrid’s eyes widened and she took a step back, a gasp escaping her lips. Hiccup looked up, his green eyes wide with worry and awe. Snotlout looked down to his feet, and gave a cry of alarm. Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other, then at Hiccup.  
“Stop it!” Jack cried, his voice full of anger, causing Hiccup to jump and look at the white haired boy. Toothless looked at Jack, his slitted pupils widening. Jack didn’t bother to look at any of them, he focused only on Snotlout.  
“Stop it. It’s not right to pressure him like this! He hasn’t done anything to you. If you keep this up, I will freeze you solid. I don’t care who you think you are, I will protect my little Viking.”  
Snotlout’s eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief. His mouth dropped open, then he slammed it shut, letting it drop open again seconds later. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were also staring in disbelief. They could see, in front of them stood a very angry looking Jack Frost. He shimmered into view just as he finished his sentence.   
“Woah.” Breathed Tuffnut as he stared at Jack’s face. Ruffnut was frozen in shock, her mouth slightly parted. Astrid looked around the room, her wide eyes going back to their normal size. Jack said nothing more, but stood extremely close to Hiccup, his staff held at the ready to defend.  
“What in Odin’s name is this?” Snotlout asked, attempting to break the ice surrounding his boots. “Who are you?”  
Hiccup placed a hand across Jack’s chest to keep him from speaking, and stepped closer to his cousin. His green eyes were glowing in determination.  
“This is Jack Frost.” He gestured to Astrid and the others. “Jack, this is Astrid. You already knew her though. This is my cousin Snotlout.”  
Snotlout stood in silence, his eyes wide in terror.  
“You have already met Tuffnut-”  
“Wait when did he do that?” Tuffnut interrupted, raising himself to his full height to tower over Hiccup. Hiccup just smiled.  
“The time I had been talking about creaming him. You interrupted our conversation.”  
“Oh.”  
Hiccup nodded and continued, gesturing to Ruffnut. “This is Tuffnut’s twin sister, Ruffnut.”  
Jack burst out laughing, causing Hiccup to turn back to him, his eyebrows cocked in confusion.  
“What’s so funny?”  
Jack was holding his stomach with his free hand, the hand holding his staff was clenched around it tightly. “N-nothing Hiccup.” He sighed, calming down enough to speak.  
Hiccup knew better, but didn’t pressure the snow spirit. Toothless gave Jack a knowing look, and Jack blushed slightly.  
“Well, now you know him. Astrid, why did you need to come up here again today?”  
Hiccup knew from Astrid’s face that what she had to say wasn’t going to be pleasant.  
“Well Hiccup…” Astrid looked down at the ground, placing her hand on the top of her axe. “We have news about the Vikings that went food hunting.”


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
Jack sat in the middle of the frozen pond, watching Hiccup pace back and forth; a frown deeply etched onto his face. The boy had practically run to the Great Hall after Astrid had said word of news from the hunting party, barely bothering to get dressed before dashing into the cold. Jack ran to keep up with him, and Toothless had been just inches behind. The other teens lagged behind; Jack was sure they already knew what the news entailed.  
After hearing the news, Hiccup had gotten onto Toothless and had flown out to the clearing. He hadn’t uttered a word. Jack could sense the boy only wanted to be alone, since he wasn’t responding to any of Jack’s questions, or to Toothless’ grumblings. He seemed to forget they were even there.  
That had been over two hours ago.  
Jack sighed, glancing over to Toothless. The big dragon was sitting on land, his huge eyes glued to his rider. Hiccup had yet to make a single sound. Jack rose quietly, moving closer to the huge beast, hoping to talk. At this point anything would be nice… to break the silence.  
This is all bad timing Jack.  
Jack nodded once, his eyes focused on the poor earth Hiccup was trampling. He had worn down all of the snow, and was now killing what was left of the grass.  
“I know it is. What do you think could have done that?”  
I’m not sure. But one thing is certain… he is going to want to find out. Toothless’ voice was tired as he spoke. He is stubborn, and will not take any form of ‘no’ as an acceptable answer.  
“I know. Maybe I could convince him to wait until I get back. If I left today, I could be back in three days, tops.”  
“No.”  
Jack looked up at Hiccup, his blue eyes widening. Hiccup stood in front of him, his scrawny arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were full of anger and worry.  
“Hiccup.”  
“Jack, I will not wait for you. My father is out there. Who knows how many Vikings survived the storms? We know from what Spitelout said that all the ships went down. Apparently so did at least a good chunk of the dragons that were with them. We don’t know how many survived that- if any. The could be starving, or injured. Or both.”  
Hiccup’s eyes screwed shut as he took a shaky breath.  
“I need to know if my dad is okay. He is the only real family I have left. I mean, yeah, Spitelout is my uncle and Snotlout my cousin, but it isn’t the same as having a parent, even if he does ignore me most of the time.”  
Jack sat frozen. Hiccup’s loud reaction was a bit startling to say the least. He did have a point, but that wasn’t what Jack was worried about. Whatever did this couldn’t have been human, or even earthly. How was he supposed to explain this to him, if he was already so adamant about not waiting?  
Almost as if he could read Jack’s thoughts, Toothless responded, He was asleep when you told him Jack. He may be more inclined to listen if you explain it from that point of view. He still doesn’t know. Toothless nudged Jack’s shoulder, encouraging him to stand.  
Jack did so, taking a deep breath.  
“Hiccup, could you please listen to what I have to say?” Jack said quietly, his hands holding his staff tightly. Hiccup shook his head and turned away from the icy boy. Jack looked to Toothless and gave an exasperated sigh.  
“Why won’t you?”  
“I don’t want to hear you try to change my mind, that’s why.”  
Jack’s head snapped to stare at Hiccup’s back. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “How do you know that’s what I want to do? Why would you think I would do that?”  
Jack threw down his staff and began to follow Hiccup, walking fast to catch up with the little Viking. He reached out to grab Hiccup’s wrist. Hiccup, sensing the spirit behind him, sped up and took an unexpected turn, keeping a slight distance between himself and Jack. He didn’t respond to Jack’s question.  
Toothless sat still, his ear flaps twitching as he watched Jack chase Hiccup. Jack was speaking words, trying to get Hiccup to respond to something, anything. But try as Jack may, the boy was not answering.  
You are making him even angrier, Jack. He is gonna snap.  
Jack ignored the warning Toothless gave, reaching out again, even though there was more than an arm’s distance between the two.  
“I’m not telling you to not find them. I would never tell you to do that. All I want is for you to wait. Do you know why Hiccup?”  
Hiccup began to walk a little slower; Jack could sense his prosthetic leg was causing him pain. But still he pressed on. This was something important that needed to be said. Toothless was right. Hiccup needed to know.  
“Do you?”  
“Because,” Hiccup snapped, trying to walk even faster, despite the throbbing pain above his prosthetic leg, “you are a selfish child Jack.”  
Jack froze for a second, and gritted his teeth. He pushed off the ground and began to run. He caught up with Hiccup, and before the teen could get away, Jack had grabbed him by the shoulders. He wheeled Hiccup around, folding him in a tight embrace. Jack buried his head into Hiccup’s shoulder, his arms crossed tightly over Hiccup’s frail back.  
“Jack-” Hiccup squirmed, trying to break free of the icy teen’s hold, “Jack let me go. Leave me-”  
“Is it selfish to want to protect you, Hic?” Jack whispered softly, choking back tears. His heart was clenching in on itself, the pain almost unbearable.  
“What?”  
“Is it selfish to want to make sure you are safe?” Jack said a little louder, his voice coarse and muffled by Hiccup’s sheepskin vest. “Is it childish to want you to be safe enough to be able to protect the ones you love?”  
Hiccup squirmed slightly, his eyes widening with every word Jack said. Jack did not loosen his grip.  
“Jack, you aren’t going to make me change my mind on anything.”  
Jack screwed his eyes shut; silently wishing the tears would stop trying to form. He hated crying. Why was this so hard to do?  
Because he called you a selfish child. Jack thought angrily. You are hurting, not just because of that, but that is why it’s so hard to say.  
“Is it…” Jack took a deep, shaky breath and opened his eyes. He raised his head from Hiccup’s shoulder and met the small boy’s eyes.  
“Is it selfish and childish to love you?”  
Hiccup’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Jack.  
Nice job snowflake. Stun him into listening.  
“What- what did you say?” Hiccup whispered, his green orbs wide as saucers and his legs shaking slightly.  
Jack let go of the Viking, never breaking his gaze from the other’s face. He took another breath and let it out, seeing little bits of snowflakes swirl upwards past his vision. This wasn’t fun; not at all.  
“I said,” Jack said slowly, emphasizing every word “is it selfish and childish to love you?”  
Hiccup’s mouth hung open as Jack’s words seeped into his brain. Jack simply stood in front of him, feeling his blood creep into his face, and not caring. The tears were still trying to form.  
“Jack-” Hiccup whispered, feeling his knees shaking harder now.  
“Hiccup, I love you.”  
Hiccup felt his knees give out. He sank to the cold, snow covered ground, resting his rump on his calves. The sun was setting in the gorge, the light bouncing off the glittering snow. Hiccup’s eyes were wide. He folded his hands in his lap.  
Jack watched as Hiccup tried to respond. All that was leaving the poor boy’s mouth though, was a small gasping sound.  
“You… You love me?” he finally whispered, more to himself than to Jack.  
Jack nodded, kneeling down in front of Hiccup. “I want you to wait, because I want to make sure you are safe, and that I can protect you. Because I love you.”  
Hiccup nodded, understanding. That actually explained a lot of Jack’s actions during the day- especially with the other teens in the morning.  
Well, now he knows. Now what? Toothless crept up to Hiccup, gently resting his bulky head on Hiccup’s narrow shoulder. Hiccup numbly reached his hand up to pet his dragon’s nose.  
“Will you listen to me now?”  
Hiccup nodded deftly.  
“I want you to wait, wait until I get back from bringing winter to Moscow. England could probably wait. I can be back in three days if I leave tonight. Make a plan while I’m gone. When I get back, we put this plan into action.”  
Or you could just wait until after the search. I’m sure they won’t mind not having winter for a few extra days Jack.  
“Either way, I have to go Toothless. I don’t think this was just nature- or even his gods getting angry. It’s too precise. I could skip winter, but I want to ask the Guardians if they know something. They are all older than me, so they might have information.”  
Jack saw Hiccup clench his jaw. He held his breath, waiting for Hiccup to respond.  
You know he doesn’t like your idea of waiting.  
Jack nodded. Hiccup reached out his hand to touch the ice teen.  
“Jack, I know you know I don’t like this plan. What about some sort of compromise?”  
“Like what, Hic?”  
Hiccup’s face contorted into a mask of thought. Jack smirked, loving the new and completely adorable look on Hiccup’s face. It was so innocent.  
“Well, what if we had a designated meeting place? You could go, and while you are gone I can get a search party out and looking. We can look on islands close by to Berk, saving the dangerous places for when you get back. I just don’t feel comfortable just leaving the survivors to their own defenses for three extra days.”  
Jack nodded, a frown playing at the corners of his mouth. “Toothless could protect you.”  
Toothless nodded.  
It isn’t like I haven’t been doing that for three years now. It would be no different than before he knew you existed.  
“I know Toothless. I know.”  
“What did he say?” Hiccup asked, pushing the big head off of his shoulder and standing up.  
“Oh…” Jack shrugged his shoulders and stood up as well. “He was reminding me, not so nicely, that he has been protecting you for three years without me.”  
Hiccup nodded. “Toothless, you should be nicer to Jack.”   
Toothless just rolled his eyes and warbled playfully.  
At least he isn’t mad anymore.  
Jack watched as the determination crept back into the boy’s eyes. A smile played at his lips as he saw Hiccup turn to Toothless, color seeping into his cheeks.  
Are you feeling better now Jack? Toothless said, shaking his head lightly.  
“Yeah, knowing he knows makes thing a lot easier.”  
Hiccup turned back to Jack, his brows up in a confused expression. Jack simply smirked and shrugged his shoulders.  
“We… should get back…”  
“So you can go bring winter to everywhere else.” Hiccup’s voice held a tinge of sadness.  
“Actually Hiccup, I think winter can wait. I’ll go to the Guardians. This is more important.”  
“You just gestured to all of me.”  
Jack smiled, nodding. “All of you is more important.”  
“Well we still need to find a place to meet.”  
Jack nodded again. Hiccup did have stubbornness issues. He wasn’t going to wait even one day. Hiccup was definitely a Viking, through and through. But the fact that he was so stubborn made Hiccup even cuter. Jack felt his heart begin to rush as he looked at Hiccup. How had something as innocent as him seeing turn into something so awesome? He wasn’t complaining, since he finally had someone other than the giant grumpy dragon to talk to.  
Jack was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Hiccup’s harness sliding into place.  
Are you ready to go?  
“I guess I have no choice but to be ready.” Jack said, prancing lightly over to pick up his staff from the snow. He didn’t really want to leave Hiccup, especially right now.  
When will you leave to find these Guardians?  
“I’ll leave when Hiccup goes to sleep tonight.”  
Hiccup nodded, only hearing Jack’s side of the conversation. He seemed to be getting used to the fact that Jack and Toothless could carry on full conversations, where as he could only carry on half. Jack was slightly relieved that he wasn’t so upset about that anymore. Without saying another word, Toothless leapt into the air, a roar ripping through the silent and now dark air. Jack followed suit, jumping up into Toothless’ air currents, fighting to fly beside the fearsome dragon and the boy.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
Stoick crawled onto the rocky shore, trying not to move his leg. Blood was spilling freely out of his thigh, where a Nadder had panicked and thrown her spikes. Thank the gods only one had hit him. All of this started three days into their attempt to locate more food.  
The waters had been clear. No sign of a storm had been seen, or even sensed. It was as if they had sailed through an invisible wall. In an instant the waters had turned, crashing each ship into rocks that, until hit, were unknown to the Viking clan.  
The only one to have gotten away had been Spitelout, on Dogbreath’s hunting dragon, Seaslug. Stoick didn’t know where the boy was. He hoped that he had survived. All the other dragon’s had fallen into the churning sea; their lives seeming to have been sucked out of them. The more dragons that fell, the stronger the storm seemed to get.  
Some of the dragon’s that fell capsized the remaining ships. Stoick was one of the few to have survived that hell.   
On the shore, Stoick could make out four other figures. Their clothes clung to their shivering bodies, their helmets missing. The island was clouded with a deep, thick fog that covered everything in sight. The other Vikings weren’t close enough to identify, but Stoick could tell by the shadows that there were two women, and two men. They all seemed to be injured pretty seriously.  
Stoick felt his stomach lurch. Ripping off a part of his tunic, he bandaged his thigh. He knew the survivors needed to get to a shelter of some sort. Fighting off waves of nausea, Stoick scanned his surroundings, squinting to make out any landmarks. In the distance he could make out a mountainous structure, not exactly laid out in any specific pattern per se, but in a formation that held potential for shelter nonetheless.  
“Let’s head to the rocks over there. We could encounter shelter.” He ordered, trying to hold back the urge to vomit. The nausea was steadily getting worse with each passing minute. This island didn’t feel right. Something was terribly wrong with the place. He felt so weak, his head was spinning uncontrollably.  
The shadows began to rise, all struggling against every fiber in their bruised and battered bodies. Stoick strained to identify the remaining Vikings, but his eyesight was getting worse the harder he looked.  
They all headed for the rocks, Stoick in the back, keeping his eyes peeled for any possibly threats. His weapons were gone, as was most of his strength, but he was ready to defend the survivors with whatever he had left.  
The island was silent. Not even the crunching of gravel was heard as the Vikings dragged their battered bodies toward the mountainous rock figure. Stoick’s mind was reeling as he tried to put his stomach at ease. The island seemed to be draining the life right out of him. Maybe it was the loss of blood.  
He was getting dizzy. The fog seemed to be closing in on him. The rocks didn’t seem to be getting any closer either- until the five Vikings stood right in front of the towering mass of rock that was a giant cave entrance.  
“Everyone inside.”  
One of the women fell forward, her body convulsing and twisting massively. She was gasping for air, and seemed to panic, Stoick realized it was much alike to the dragons before they fell into the tides. Her breath caught in her throat, and she stopped moving. Stoick watched as the woman withered into a ragged husk of skin, seemingly within seconds.  
Stoick swallowed hard. Something was terribly wrong here. Stepping over the woman’s body, he led the three other survivors into the cave. They would just have to wait it out until someone came to their rescue- provided Spitelout got back to Berk. The fog lay outside the cave like a blanket, swirling lazily around the entrance.  
Stoick could now see the remaining men. Mulch and Bucket were the two men, and Astrid’s mother was the only remaining woman.  
“Odin help us.” He whispered, leaning against the smooth rock wall or the cave.  
Stoick closed his eyes, sitting against the wall of the dark cave, faintly aware of the sensation of someone watching him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
Jack watched the scenery pass beneath him as he flew through the air. Usually, watching the changing scenery was something he enjoyed doing… But not today. The sun wasn’t even out yet. The moon shone so brightly, and Jack was forced to remember the night he woke up.  
Back then, he thought the moon was his friend. Back then, it had truly seemed that way. It had told him his name, and when he had learned he was invisible to every human, it was there, supporting him. After that moment though, the Man in the Moon became silent; never speaking another word to Jack. He had asked almost every day, but the Man in the Moon had always stayed silent as to why.   
“I know you know what’s going on.” Jack said to the giant floating orb, not bothering to look up at it. “Give me a hand here. What’s happening? What can I do to stop it?”  
Jack stopped flying and landed at the top of a giant pine tree. He looked up to the giant orb, waiting for a response. He didn’t know why he bothered to. The moon was, of course, silent.  
Always silent. It frustrated Jack more than anything to be ignored.  
He pushed his frustration to the back of his mind as he scanned the horizon. There wasn’t really any kind of good that would come out of his frustrations: especially right now. He had a mission to complete. Finding information about what could have caused the calamity was his highest priority- that and getting back to Hiccup.  
The sun was just starting to peek over the side of the world, its brilliant and fiery orange light bouncing off of everything it touched. It reminded Jack of the colors of the flames that the Nadder, Stormfly, shot. It was a beautiful sight, and Jack was breathless with its beauty for a few minutes. He was broken from the beauty with a single thought: Hiccup would just be waking up and getting ready to begin dragon training for the day.  
Hiccup’s part of the plan was beginning.  
Jack smiled, imagining the small brunette’s innocent face as it would have been; his eyes shut tight in peaceful slumber. Until, of course, that giant beast woke him up. Hiccup’s mouth would probably be open just the slightest, his breathing strong and steady. Toothless would probably just be looking at him, that toothless grin smeared onto his face as he got ready to nudge the boy awake…  
Shaking his head, Jack pushed off from the tree, heading towards the North Pole. He knew that North would be able to help him the most-Sandman may have been the oldest Guardian, but he only spoke with those strange dreamsand pictures. Jack couldn’t understand him at all, though he had only spoken to him a handful of times.  
Bunnymund was a grouchy six-foot kangaroo that hated everything about Jack. Jack was just fine with that, he didn’t care too much about the arrogant “bunny” either. They never saw eye to eye, and Jack preferred to keep his distance anyway.  
The Tooth Fairy… well, she kind of freaked Jack out. He had never actually met the woman; he had actually only ever seen her flying above him. But every time he saw her, she was going on about teeth. Jack wasn’t sure if her mind was all there or not.  
North was also the closest to Berk. Jack was a bit afraid of North, being that Jack was a skinny boy compared to the big Russian man. It was like comparing a twig to a full grown tree. How could someone be so frightening, yet so friendly? North had always tried to be nice to Jack. Sort of. It was more of a stressed peace between the two.  
Like an old man dealing with a young child. That was, in essence, what Jack was- he had only been around for fifty or sixty years… It was hard to keep count exactly. He was sure it was closer to sixty now, maybe fifty-eight or so years. But all of the Guardians had been around for over three hundred already.  
North was the second oldest spirit Jack knew of- Sandman was as old as the Man in the Moon. Maybe even older, Jack wasn’t sure.  
Good old “Manny”. Manny was the name that North used when speaking to the Man in the Moon. Jack didn’t know if “Manny” spoke back to North or not.  
The sun was higher in the sky now; not quite noon time. Jack knew that right now Hiccup would be wrapping up dragon training. The plan was to ask the other teens to from a search party and begin looking for survivors. Jack made sure that Hiccup would only search the islands. The ocean was too open and dangerous for his comfort. They could look, but the only things they would likely find was wreckage- and maybe even that would have been pushed miles away from the actual site.  
If the teens did find the survivors Hiccup was to fly towards the North Pole to alert Jack. Toothless knew the general direction to go, and that was what Jack was counting on. If survivors were not found by the morning of the third day, Jack would meet the teens on Death Island.  
The name was unoriginal, in Jack’s opinion. It was named from the pattern of the rocks- from the sky it formed a giant skull. It was often covered with fog from the ocean, making it the perfect creepy place. Jack didn’t like the idea of this island, at all. Even with Hiccup’s reassurance that no one had ever stepped foot on the island, Jack still felt uneasy.  
Jack pressed the wind to go faster as he neared the two mountains that hid North’s workshop. Jack had never been allowed in the shop itself. The closest he had ever gotten was the reception hall, where the giant lighted globe was. It was a pretty big place, but there wasn’t much to do there. Maybe he would try to bust in to the workshop one day- but not today.  
Jack dropped from the sky onto an outdoor patio. It was more like a balcony, but North had insisted on calling it a patio.   
Standing before him were two hairy monsters. They lumbered up to him, speaking in a strange tongue Jack had given up trying to understand. These were North’s workers and guards- yetis.  
The yeti’s eyes widened as they took in Jack’s appearance. One waved to the other, saying something. The other yeti turned around and began to run-to the best of his ability- back into the building. One thing was always true about North’s workshop: everything was done efficiently and thoroughly.  
“Hey Phil.”  
The hairy yeti grumbled angrily and looked toward the door.  
The only one who ever seemed pleased with Jack’s presence was North. Jack sighed quietly, mentally preparing for the meeting.  
A giant shadow appeared on the other side of the door that Phil was looking at, almost as big as the yetis. Suddenly, the door was thrown open, revealing a tall, wide man. His blue eyes shimmered in what Jack hoped was some sort of joy. The man’s black eyebrows-the only hair that was still his natural color- were shot up in surprise.  
“Ah! Jack Frost. It has been long time, no?” the man’s accent was strong. “Tell me, what is wrong.” It wasn’t a question, but a command.  
Jack took another deep breath.  
“Well North, I have a few questions that I hope you can answer.”  
It was silent for a moment as Jack was ushered into the reception hall and offered cookies and egg nog.  
“Go on.”  
Jack took a third deep breath, and then began the story.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
Hiccup groaned as Toothless took to the sky once again. It had been almost an entire afternoon since the search party had begun their search. So far there hadn’t been even a sign of any wreckage. No mysterious storm, not even floating carcasses.  
“Toothless, I’m worried. What if there isn’t anything left? What if there is no one left?”  
Toothless grumbled loudly below Hiccup, his eyes slitted. Dragons did have better eyesight than humans, but so far even Toothless wasn’t sensing anything.  
Astrid flew to the right of Hiccup, Stormfly beating her wings steadily. Snotlout was to Hiccup’s left, Hookfang scanning below with giant, regal head sweeps. Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew behind Stormfly, Barf and Belch were scanning for movement from the sides. Fishlegs was on his Gronkle, Meatlug, behind the Monstrous Nightmare. Meatlug was mirroring the Zippleback’s movements. From below, they looked kind of like a giant “V” in the sky.  
None of the teens spoke, except Hiccup.  
“Okay. Now we have the Northwest islands to check. If we keep up with the blanks like this, we’ll beat Jack to Death Island by a whole day.”  
Jack. Hiccup’s heart squeezed a little tighter thinking about the white haired boy. His heart beat a little faster. Hiccup wondered how Jack’s part of the mission was going. It was a mission, a rescue mission. It just was not the traditional type. He almost regretted telling Jack that he wouldn’t wait. Maybe it would have been better. No one spoke.  
All Hiccup could hear was the steady wing beats of the dragons, and the uneven beat of his own heart. He swallowed hard, gazing even harder at the churning ocean below him. It was hard to focus with his mind thinking of Jack.   
But…  
He really wished Jack was there. Jack would probably be laughing as he flew, or talking about something silly. If Jack was there, at least Hiccup could have been talking to someone. The crew of teens were too silent. Yes, it was a serious mission, but this silence was making him uncomfortable. They weren’t even trying to make fun of him for being with Jack.  
Jack. Hiccup squeezed again, and Hiccup sighed quietly. He missed Jack. The familiar cool he had grown used to feeling beside him hadn’t been there the night before. Toothless was acting a bit strange as well; like he missed Jack being around too.  
Suddenly something glinted in the water. Just as Hiccup saw it, Toothless dove. The four dragons followed the leader, causing all the teens to cry out in surprise. As Toothless got closer to the glinting thing, Hiccup noticed the long horns of a Viking Helmet. Toothless scooped it up in his big mouth and rose back into the air, searching for nearby land.  
He spotted a small island nearby, which seemed to be mostly rock. Gracefully, Toothless landed on a small circular clearing, Hiccup leaping off of his back seconds later. The other teens landed moments after Toothless did, getting off their dragons and walking quickly to where Hiccup stood.  
Toothless dropped the helmet on the ground in front of his rider, his already big eyes widening as he looked down at it.  
Hiccup gasped.  
Stoick’s helmet lay at his feet, the fading sunlight glinting off of the headpiece.  
Hiccup felt a lump rise in his throat as he stared at his father’s helmet. He kneeled down slowly, his shaky hands reaching out for it. As he felt the cold of the bone horn in his hand, Hiccup let out a small gasp.  
A giant dent sat in the middle of the helmet. Hiccup ran his finger over the dent, wondering what could have done it.  
Toothless warbled quietly as he stared at the helmet and swished his tail.  
“Hiccup… Is that?” Astrid asked, not daring to finish the question as she walked up beside him. Her eyes were locked on the helmet in his hand.  
“Yes Astrid. My dad’s.”  
It was quiet for a moment as the teens looked at the helmet. Hiccup’s heart was squeezing hard now, an overwhelming feeling of loss flowing through his body. The lump grew a little bigger as Hiccup blinked the tears away from his eyes.  
“He could still be alive Hiccup. His helmet probably got knocked off when the ships crashed. I’m sure that wasn’t the only one to get knocked off.”  
The other dragons made slight grumbling noises, as if agreeing with Astrid. Toothless warbled a little louder, nudging his head into Hiccup’s lap.   
Hiccup sighed and nodded weakly. His stomach churned uneasily. Oh, how he hoped Astrid was right.  
“That is a possibility. But I can’t help feeling like something truly terrible happened.” His voice was just a little bit shaky. “We need to keep going.”  
“Ummm, Hiccup? Just where do we go from here, exactly?” Fishlegs asked, scanning the rocky terrain nervously. The sun was even lower in the sky; soon it would be completely dark. Even though he was the biggest Viking teen, Fishlegs was the most easily frightened. It almost made Hiccup feel sorry for him, but at least Fishlegs wasn’t a reject like he was.  
Hiccup sighed and pulled out his map. He put an “O” in the approximate area where they had found the helmet, and quickly glanced at the multiple “X”s that dotted the parchment. This particular island hadn’t been searched yet. It was small, so it wouldn’t take too long to do.  
“Let’s sweep here, and then continue to the Northwest islands. If we make it before dark, we’ll try to sweep an island. If not, we’ll make camp for the night.”  
Everyone nodded, most turning back to go mount their dragons. Hiccup rose slowly, placing the battered helmet on his head. It was still a bit big for him, and the helmet willing slipped forward over his eyes. Toothless let out a laugh, swishing his tail happily.  
“Yeah, yeah bud. It’s hilarious.”  
Astrid smirked at Hiccup, stifling a giggle. She turned to Stormfly, who cooed impatiently to her rider. The other teens were already on their dragons and beginning the sweep.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
“We are going to have company.” North cried; waving his hands in the air and walking quickly to the giant globe that spun lazily in the middle of the reception hall. On the control box in front of it, there was a lever of sorts. North wrapped his big hand around it. He twisted slightly, rotating the lever around about ninety degrees and pushing it into the control panel.  
Suddenly, a line of bright greens, blues and yellows flowed around the globe and through a moderate sized hole in the roof. Jack ran to the big doors that led to the patio, his eyes wide as he watched the sky. He watched the line of swirling colors as it split apart, moving in every direction.  
“What’s this for?” asked Jack, his heart fluttering with newfound joy. The lights looked so happy and free- if they were actually living, Jack imagined them smiling and laughing.  
“I’m calling the others.”  
“Shouldn’t you have done that yesterday North?” Jack asked, frowning as he turned around to face the big man.  
North just laughed, holding his hands to his giant belly.  
A hole appeared in the ground a few feet from North. He seemed oblivious to its appearance, and began to call the elves for more cookies. Out of the hole, Jack could see two extremely long, grey ears. They twitched once; twice, three times before the rest of the head emerged over the edge of the hole. Small green eyes peered distrustingly at Jack. After a moment the long eared creature leapt out of its hole. The hole closed immediately, and standing where it had once been, was a giant rabbit.  
“What is it North? What is this Frostbite doin’ here?” The rabbit said in a heavy Australian accent, its eyes narrowing even more.  
“Bunny. We have big problem. Jack brings news of strange happenings.” North said, clapping the rabbit hard on his shoulder. Bunny shook his head, rotating his shoulder carefully.  
“What kind of strange happenings?” a woman’s voice was heard. Then came the sound fluttering of wings.  
Jack jumped unwilling when the woman who had spoken flew right next to him. She had stopped flying around; and instead was fluttering in one place, twitching slightly from left to right. Jack noticed that she flew more like a hummingbird; with her wings beating rapidly. She was covered from head to toe with green, yellow and blue feathers.  
“Jack, do you wish to explain?” North asked gently, waving to the winged woman. North’s voice was kind, but Jack was no longer feeling bubbly, or even joyful. He didn’t really want to explain everything again. His mind traveled back to Berk. He hoped that the search party had found something… anything. He wondered how Hiccup was holding up.  
“Well…” Jack began slowly, inching away from the feather clad woman.  
“Sandy! Glad you could make it.” North boomed, interrupting Jack and opening his arms wide as if to hug the tiny gold man that fluttered down from a golden sand cloud. The man moved his hands quickly, golden pictures appearing over his head.  
“Jack was just about to recap strange happenings.”  
The small man turned to Jack, his eyes peering curiously at the white haired boy. Jack clutched his staff tighter before he began to speak again.  
“Well, currently, I am bringing winter to Berk. It’s a Viking village about a days journey South from here. These Vikings are a bit different from others, they have dragons.”  
“Dragons?” Bunny interrupted nervously. “Oi mate, like, fire breathers?”  
Jack nodded slightly, his irritation growing. Bunny’s ears went flat to his head.  
“I already don’t like the sound of this mate.”  
“The dragons aren’t the problem. I brought winter to Berk a few weeks earlier than normal. There wasn’t enough food, so the chief decided to take most of the able adults and dragons to find more so the village would be fed.”  
“Okay… but what does that have to do with strange?” asked the feather clad woman. “It doesn’t sound that strange to me.”  
“Tooth, let him finish.” North said, offering everyone egg nog.  
Tooth nodded, muttering an apology. Jack to a deep breath and continued.  
“Well, they were only gone for two weeks. Only one man came back to Berk. On one dragon.”  
Sandman placed a question mark over his head. His happy face turned into a concerned frown.  
“He said the party had run into a storm. But it happened instantaneously. He spoke of it as if they had sailed through an invisible wall. Dragons began falling, seeming to have their very lives sucked out of them. Every ship was capsized.”  
Jack was silent or a moment as he caught himself speaking faster and faster. Sandy, Tooth and Bunny were watching him, their eyes wide with worry. North, who had already heard the story, was pacing back and forth in front of the glittering globe.  
“He said the storm seemed to get stronger the more dragons fell. He himself barely made it back to Berk.”  
“Whaddya mean, ‘barely made it back’, Frostbite?”  
“He was extremely weak. Completely bed ridden. And Vikings don’t go down easily. The dragon did not survive; it died almost as soon as it reached Berk. Hiccup and the other teens went to find any survivors.”  
“Hiccup?” Tooth giggled. She looked at Jack curiously, her big light purple eyes shining brightly. Jack found her eyes almost as mesmerizing as Hiccup’s green ones. The thought of Hiccup made Jack’s heart flutter slightly.  
“Yes. Hiccup. He is one of the teens on Berk. I am friends with his dragon.”  
Bunny shook his head in disbelief.  
Jack ignored the giant grey rabbit and continued. “I don’t think whatever did this was earthly. It just doesn’t add up to me. I came to ask for information. Has this ever happened before? Hiccup is very important to me, and I don’t want any harm to come to him, or the other residents at Berk- human or no.”  
As a side note, Jack added, “His father is the chief, and is still missing.”  
It was silent for a few minutes as the Guardians took in what was said. Jack’s heart began to ache.  
It was nearing the end of day two. He was no closer to finding an answer than he was when he had left Berk. The only difference was now, instead of just the Vikings, dragons and himself knowing what had happened, the Guardians knew as well.  
“Well, Tooth, you have any information about this?” North asked hopefully.  
Tooth shook her head slowly, a frown coming to her face. Her wings began to beat slower and she started to near the ground. Her hands were folded together, pressing to her stomach. She did not raise her head.  
Sandman had a thoughtful expression on his face; his light brown eyes glittering with unspoken ideas. Whatever he had thought of though, he decided to keep to himself. Jack wondered if the spirit had ever been able to speak, and if he had, what his voice might have sounded like.  
It was simply a distraction as he felt his heart sink with every passing second of silence.  
Jack looked around the reception hall.  
Tooth was now kneeling on the floor; Bunny was scratching his chin with an oversized foot. North had gone back to pacing. Sandy simply stood there, a million thoughts swarming across his eyes, but never leaving his mind.  
Jack sighed quietly and began to pace in a circle. He twirled his staff carelessly about his body, flinching slightly as he hit his shoulder hard. At least he could feel the pain. He hoped Hiccup was having better luck. Toothless would of course be taking good care of his little Viking, but Jack missed being the one who did the protecting.  
When this was all settled, and Stoick was back home, maybe Jack would make Berk his official home. If Hiccup still wanted him around, that was. Toothless would get sick of Jack being around, but Jack had experienced enough loneliness to last forever. He finally had someone to actually talk to- to cuddle, to kiss.  
I love you Jack.  
Jack’s heart fluttered again, remembering the events from the past week. Sleeping with Hiccup; his warm body comforting as Jack cuddled against it. Seeing the look on Hiccup’s face when he saw the ice gifts Jack had made for him. The snowball fights- even defending Hiccup from the other teens when they barged into his bedroom. All these memories brought a special kind of warmth to Jack’s heart.   
Sandy was the first to make another noise. Though it wasn’t really noise…  
He began to jump up and down in the air excitedly. He pointed to the sky, a picture of a crescent moon popping above his head, like a flashing light. Jack was the first to see, being drawn out of his thoughts by the little man’s sudden movements. He looked at the old spirit worriedly.  
North stopped pacing and looked at Sandy, his eyebrows shooting up to complete a confused stare. After a moment, he turned and looked to where Sandy was pointing, a smile playing at his lips.  
“Ah! Man in Moon!” He cried.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
Jack’s eyes widened as he turned to see what North was talking about. The Man in the Moon? Here?  
Floating down from the opening in the roof, on a beam of milky light, was a small man. He was smaller than even Hiccup. He was round, like a ball, with tiny arms and short stick-like legs. He didn’t really have much of a neck, and his head was bald, and shaped like one of Bunny’s Easter eggs. He was a pasty pale color, which made him look kind of sick, in Jack’s opinion. His golden eyes seemed to pop out of his head, a look of surprise perpetually stained on his features.  
The man landed lightly on the floor, looking around the room with seemingly great interest.  
“Well North, it has been some time. I like the new decorations.” The man said slowly. His voice was extremely squeaky; akin to that of a small child’s.  
North nodded.  
“Yes, Manny. It has been long time. But you are not here to visit, yes?”  
“Correct. I am here to speak to all of you about a problem. Young Frost seems to have stumbled on the beginning of said problem, and he seems to have briefed you on the happenings, but not the cause.”  
“What?” Jack asked, his heart fluttering slightly in panic. The beginning? It seemed like so much more than the ‘beginning’ of a problem.  
“Yes Jack. It seems that one of my stars has become a rogue.” Manny said calmly. His high pitched voice was slightly wearing on Jack’s nerves.  
“What? A rogue star?” Tooth asked, fluttering nervously above Jack’s and Bunny’s heads. “I thought they were only legends.”  
“What is a rogue star?” Jack asked, his heart sinking slightly.  
“Oi mate, you never even heard of a rogue star?” Bunny asked, his ears laying flat on his head. Jack shook his head slowly, gripping his staff tighter and leaning against it.  
“This Frostbite is useless.”  
“HEY! I have only been around for half a century. And on top of that, I’ve been ignored. This isn’t my fault.”  
Bunny rolled his eyes and looked away. Sandy looked from the white haired boy to the six foot rabbit with intense curiosity. It was as if he had never seen two creatures interact with contempt for each other.   
“Well Jack, the stars work for Manny. Sometimes, the stars get strange idea about life. They rebel, by disappearing or fighting mandate.” North said as he walked over to Jack and stood in front of him. “These stars are very dangerous. If allowed to be free, they can cause many problems for humans and spirits alike.”  
Manny nodded quickly. “Rogue stars are not legends, but it has been over one thousand years since a star has gone rogue.”  
“Why so long?” Jack asked.  
“I have managed to stamp plenty of fear into their hearts since the last rebellion. No rogue star has ever fully succeeded in their rebellions, which is a good thing. But this rogue is showing signs that he is different.”  
Bunny looked to Jack, his nose twitching slightly. “Because of the fire-breathers?”  
Manny shook his head. Jack let out a light breath. He was sure that now it was partway through the night. He needed to leave soon, especially if he was to make the deadline to meet the teens on Death Island. But now that Manny was here, he was getting some information. He didn’t like where the information was going, but at least he was learning something about his enemy.  
“This star has stolen some very important documents from my quarters. Based on the content matter he took, I would wager he is sucking the life energy out of human and animal alike. If this is true, this star is extremely dangerous. More so than any other rogue.”  
“But why?” Jack asked, his heart beating fast.  
If this star was as dangerous as Manny was saying he was, Hiccup and Toothless were in severe danger. Not only them, but the other teens and dragons, possibly all of Berk!  
Jack’s heart was racing as his mind frantically searched for a quick way out. His eyes dodged here and there, looking around the room. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to his little Viking or any of his friends. Not if he could help it.  
Manny once again ignored Jack. Jack growled in frustration as Manny continued.  
“He needs to be stopped, at all costs. If he isn’t stopped, the children will be in great danger.”  
“What was content matter, Manny?” North asked; his blue eyes wide with concern.  
It was quiet for a moment before Manny responded.  
“Immortality.”  
“Whaddya mean, ‘immortality’, mate?” Bunny asked, hopping closer to the little round blob. Manny didn’t seem to notice, as he was looking up to the sky, worry written plainly across his face.  
“Stars are not meant to be immortal beings, Bunnymund.” Manny said, not dropping his gaze. Jack noticed the sad look that crossed Manny’s features. His golden eyes glistened with emotion. Finally Manny looked back to the group.  
“The stars are here, to maintain the balance of dark and light. An immortal star would mean the end of life cycles. This, in turn could cause devastation to the beings here on Earth. We spirits do not need sleep, or mind the light or dark,   
but to a human… they could lose a very important part of living.”  
Jack listened carefully, knowing this information was important to here. He began to inch slowly toward the big doors that led to the patio.  
“Not only that,” Manny continued, “the stars gravities would change, causing worldwide catastrophes and calamities. With this concern, there is also the possibility of eternal day, or eternal night. This can cause the humans to weaken, which in turn could beckon to other spirits, who are negative in nature, to come around.”  
“You are meaning of Pitch Black?” North asked cautiously. He looked to Tooth, who was fluttering over Sandy’s head.  
“Yes.”  
Jack began to inch faster, his movement becoming loose as he practically ran to the big doors. He had heard stories of Pitch Black, and the things he had done to humanity.  
“Jack Frost.”  
The sternness in Manny’s voice was unmistakable. Jack stopped in his tracks, his heart freezing mid-beat. Was Manny going to make him watch as the only thing he cared about got his life sucked out? Jack turned to Manny, and looked into the blob man’s golden eyes.  
Manny had moved, and was floating right in front of him. Jack’s eyes widened as the moon man ripped his staff out of his grip.  
“Hey, I need that!” Jack cried, trying to swipe his staff back from Manny.  
Manny made a gesture as he floated high above Jack’s head. Something small materialized in Manny’s hand, shimmering into existence lazily. Manny quickly tied this small thing to the crook of Jack’s staff. It glowed for a short moment.  
Jack stared curiously as Manny floated back down to hand back the staff.  
“I know where you were trying to go, Jack.” Manny said, setting the staff on the ground in front of Jack. “Be warned. The boy is not likely to survive.”  
“Well if you keep me here any longer, he won’t have any chance to survive.” Jack snapped, snatching up his staff and turning back toward the doors.  
Jack’s heart squeezed as he heard Manny sigh.  
“No. Your recklessness will be the end of you both.”


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
Hiccup sighed as he limped around a rocky corner. The teens had landed on Death Island just as the sun was rising, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. The sun was now almost completely overhead. Hiccup was getting worried, especially since Jack had made him promise not to search Death Island without him. Toothless had his ear flaps raised, listening intently for Jack’s arrival. He warbled gently to Hiccup, crawling into a crouching position.  
“I don’t know bud. Maybe whatever got the survivors got Jack too.”  
Hiccup sat down on the cool, rocky ground, resting his prosthetic leg flat in front of him. The fog wasn’t as thick as it normally was, but Hiccup had to squint to see past his big dragon. He leaned his head back against the giant stone wall, letting the sun’s rays warm his body. He closed his eyes, breathing quietly. His ears strained to hear anything: the wind picking up, Toothless’ movements relaxing, or anything that could signal Jack coming to the island.  
But, there was nothing.  
“What if he never comes back?” Hiccup’s voice cracked. Toothless nudged Hiccup gently, placing his large head on his lap and gurgling quietly.  
“It seems to me that you are more worried about this white haired freak more than you are about the survivors.” Snotlout’s voice was harsh as it floated above Hiccups head. Hookfang jumped down from the top of the stone wall he had been on, Snotlout on his back. The second the Nightmare’s feet hit the ground, Snotlout was off his back and lumbering toward Hiccup.  
“I mean, it is your father that is still missing. Astrid’s mother… Ruff and Tuff’s too.”  
“That isn’t true.” Hiccup said slowly, opening his eyes and looking at his cousin. “I mean, the last part is, but I am not more worried about Jack than I am about my dad, or Astrid’s or even the twins’.”  
It was true. Since finding Stoick’s helmet, Hiccup had not slept well, and had been searching even harder to find any and all survivors.  
“Oh, it’s not?” Snotlout leered, standing even closer to Hiccup. Toothless growled angrily, sitting up and baring his sharp teeth at the boy. Snotlout ignored Toothless’ threat and continued to talk.  
“Ever since we left Berk, all I have ever heard you talk about is that boy. ‘Jack’ this and ‘Jack’ that. I mean, come on Hiccup! Your father could be dying. Or dead already. Stop thinking about your little boyfriend and let’s actually find the missing adults.”  
Snotlout spat the word in Hiccup’s face, causing Hiccup to wince.  
Boyfriend.  
Sure, Hiccup loved the ice spirit more than just a friend, but there were plenty of problems that would keep them apart.  
For starters, Hiccup was a mortal. Jack would never get old or die. But Hiccup would get old, and die. He could get sick, and he was fragile. Jack was virtually indestructible. He would never get sick; never end up in a hospital because of broken bones or something else. But Hiccup could, and in all actuality, probably would. He would get sick, or break bones, get old, and eventually die.  
Jack was a carefree spirit. Hiccup was the son of the chief. He had duties to take care of. Duties to his village; duties Jack couldn’t really help with- like producing an heir.  
And Jack was just a big kid. He enjoyed fun more than anything. While that was a good thing for kids-to a point- Jack’s always playful spirit wasn’t too good in a serious situation. But even then… when Jack had the right motivation, he could be extremely serious. It was almost like he was a whole different person.  
That didn’t even cover the fact that the only ones to actually see Jack were the other teens and himself. If it hadn’t been for Jack’s quick temper the four days past, it would have been only him to see.  
But he was in no way Hiccup’s boyfriend.  
Hiccup saw a shadow pop over the edge of the wall. Astrid glared down at Snotlout, her bright blue eyes seeming as hard as the stone she stood on. Stormfly’s tail swished quickly as she tried to maintain her balance.  
“Snotlout, leave Hiccup alone. He was the one who got all of us together to find the surviving adults after all. If he didn’t care about them, he wouldn’t have done this. And as long as Stoick is missing, he is the chief. You need to respect that.”  
Stormfly flew down, gracefully for a Nadder, and landed directly in front of Hiccup, blocking what little heat from the sun he was managing to get.  
“I’m sorry Hiccup.” Astrid said softly, her eyes softening as she looked at him. “I know I haven’t been all that nice to you. But I’m gonna be better. You were the one that saved the village when they went to kill the Red Death, and you are here now, trying to save the rest of our tribe.”  
“It’s okay Astrid. You have been nicer than everyone else since then.”  
Astrid smiled; a hint of melancholy swimming in her twin pools of blue. Hiccup smiled back quickly, standing up so the sun could warm his skin once more. He was a bit cold, like he was starting to get sick. He wanted to get warm, before Jack came.  
“Still, Astrid. If he’s going to be the next chief, he needs a wife. He needs an heir. Our tribe is already failing because of the huge age gap between us and the babies.”   
“Snotlout, everything will work out. Hiccup always has a plan. Besides, I am fairly certain that you made an assumption.”  
“Astrid, you can see that he has some sort of deranged infatuation with the boy. He isn’t even human. It just isn’t right.”  
“Enough Snotlout.” Astrid’s voice was quiet.  
“No Astrid. I know I’m not the only one thinking this. But I will be the one to speak-”  
“I said, enough.” Astrid shouted, reaching for her axe as she leapt off of Stormfly. Snotlout backed up and kept his eyes on Astrid’s glistening axe. The fog seemed to be lessening as the day went on, and Hiccup found he wasn’t straining his eyes so hard to see everything that was going on.  
Toothless sat up, his eyes wide as he looked from Astrid to Snotlout. He twitched his tail quickly, flicking it closer to Hiccup. Hiccup, noticing the flick, glanced back at his dragon curiously. Toothless simply sat on his hind legs, and watched the scene carefully. Hiccup nodded, knowing what Toothless wanted him to do.  
“Whether you think so or not, Hiccup is well aware of his duties as the next chief. I don’t care if you are also an eligible heir, he is the rightful one. You should respect that.” She walked a bit closer to Snotlout, causing the boy to take a few steps back. Hookfang watched warily just a few feet away. Stormfly cooed, almost telling Snotlout the exact things Astrid was.  
“His decisions affect us all. Yes, we all know that. But I know he will make the right decisions for us as a people. He isn’t so selfish. I will always respect my leader’s orders and wishes, regardless of how I feel.”  
Hiccup couldn’t take any more.  
“Astrid… it’s fine.” He interrupted, moving in between the angry girl and his obnoxious cousin. “I don’t expect people to agree with me all the time. And I do like it when people voice their opinions.”  
“That wasn’t opinions Hiccup. It was just downright ignorant and rude.”  
Hiccup shook his head. “Snotlout’s way of voicing his opinions most often is mean. Yeah, what he says hurts sometimes but at least he is voicing his concerns.”  
“But he isn’t respecting you Hiccup. That is my issue. He is accusing you of something, and not giving you the respect you deserve as chief of the tribe.”  
“I’m not chief yet. My dad is still around. And he is alive. I know it.”  
Astrid turned back to Stormfly.  
“At least I respect my future leader, Snotlout.” She holstered her axe harshly and leapt onto her Nadder. Without another word, Astrid and her dragon took to the air, flying in circles above their heads.  
Hiccup sighed and turned to Snotlout. He was already walking away, calling to Hookfang. Hiccup could see the anger as it came off of Snotlout in waves. As they took to the skies, Hiccup sighed again, shaking his head.  
“Hey there kiddo. What did I miss?”  
“Jack!”  
Hiccup turned to see the white haired teen land gently on the ground, frost flaking across the earth he stood on. Hiccup ran, slipping slightly the closer he got, and enveloped him in a giant hug. Toothless gave a happy grumble, and crept up to the two. He nudged Jack playfully behind his knees.  
“I’m glad you’re back. We didn’t have much luck. We found dad’s helmet.”  
“Any survivors found?” Jack asked hopefully. His blue eyes were wide as he held Hiccup at arm’s length, looking deep into the boy’s green eyes; looking for something positive.  
Hiccup shook his head.  
“I see.”  
Jack dropped his arms and looked around. The teens had decided to start the search on the higher part of the island. It was rocky and uneven terrain, and it was also covered with dense vegetation. Trees, vines, and tall grass covered almost everything. There were parts of the earth that was just hard, cool rock. They dotted the ground every few feet- just patches of bare, jagged, rock ground.  
The other teens were now all circling above Hiccup’s head, waiting for the boys to join them. Toothless warbled with impatience.  
“Let’s get going.” Jack said lightly, taking to the air while a gust of cold wind blew harshly around him.  
Hiccup jumped onto Toothless. With a mighty roar, he leapt into the air, flying up among the other teens. This was now Jack’s command.  
“We will search one half of the island today. The other half will be searched tomorrow.” Hiccup said loudly, hoping everyone could hear him over the sound of beating wings. “Half of us will fly above and scan, the other half will search the ground. I’m searching lower, and will bring two with me. Jack- you choose where you will go.”  
“I’ll scan.” Jack said, shooting forward. Snotlout rolled his eyes.  
“Ruff, Tuff, you two need to agree on where to go. I would prefer to have you with me, but it will be your choice.”  
“We’ll go with you.” Ruffnut said, pushing Barf/Belch to lower next to Toothless. Tuffnut nodded, patting his side of the dragon’s neck. Hiccup nodded in appreciation.  
Jack took over.  
“We’ll meet in the sky before sunset and decide where to make camp. Those who are on the ground, just fly straight up. We will come to you.” Jack said as he circled high above the group. “We will have a dragon shoot a signal into the air if wither group finds anything.”  
Hiccup and the other teens nodded, and separated to do their assigned jobs.  
The search commenced.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
Hiccup watched the other teens as he nibbled on a small piece of cured meat while he waited for the fish to cook. Everyone seemed to be avoiding Jack, and keeping their distance from Hiccup as well.  
The search that day had not gone well, with not even so much as a footprint found.  
Astrid would look over to Jack every now and then, her blue eyes blazing in the light of the fire. Snotlout refused to look at anything but his portion of meat. Fishlegs and the twins were whispering to each other, keeping their heads lowered. Hiccup knew what they were talking about, and he didn’t really care what they all thought.  
Jack sat behind Hiccup, nestled against a giant pine tree. Once the fire had gotten started he had inched away from the flames. He hadn’t moved since then. Hiccup turned to look at the snow teen.  
“Jack, are you okay?”  
Jack nodded absently, not looking up. He was fiddling with his staff.  
Since Toothless could talk to Jack, Hiccup figured this behavior was due to the dragon saying something about the fight between himself and Snotlout. It was exactly what Jack had been wary of in the first place. But even with Snotlout’s adamant and rude response to the idea of Hiccup with Jack, it didn’t change how Hiccup felt.   
“Are you sure?”  
Jack nodded again. He still didn’t take his eyes off of the frosted piece of wind. He twirled it gently in his fingers. Toothless rested beside him; his head nestled next to Jack’s thigh. His eyes were closed, but his ear flaps twitched ever so slightly. Hiccup had to squint to see his dragon, not only because to the dark, but because of the fog that layered the ground.  
Hiccup reached into a fold of his pants, and brought out the snowflake prism Jack had made him. He shook it gently, and watched the snow storm of tiny flakes swirl chaotically around the snowflake. He sighed and reached into another fold, bringing out a long piece of hemp. He began to carefully wrap the prism in the hemp, securing it in place.  
He then took another piece of hemp, and slid it through a loop at the top of the wrapping. Then he tied the hemp cord in a knot and slid it over his head. It was a bit longer than he had hoped it would be, and it sat in the center of his chest, the snow crystals glittering as the light from the fire bounced off of it. He picked it up off his chest and watched as the snow flurry began to settle again.  
Something was bothering Jack; he could tell. But the boy was too stubborn to talk. All Hiccup could do was hope Jack would open up later. What was wrong with Jack?  
The other teens had become quiet, and were all staring at Jack and Hiccup intensely. Astrid’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the white haired boy. Snotlout was glaring at Hiccup. Hiccup met Snotlout’s glare with a glare of his own, his heart beating irregularly fast.  
As Hiccup turned around to look at Jack again, the boy rose. Toothless raised his head and looked up at Jack’s skinny form.  
“We should all be getting some sleep soon.” He said quietly. “We need to be well rested for the search tomorrow.”  
There was no complaint from the other teens; they simply nodded and began to rise. The only one who didn’t move was Snotlout. He only rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. Hiccup pulled his hands into fists, beginning to push them into his thighs to keep himself preoccupied. Snotlout was just tried to piss him off. He wouldn’t let him.   
What was Snotlout’s problem with Jack? Was it simply that Jack made Hiccup happy? Surely he wasn’t that mean. But what else could it be? Was it the fact that he wasn’t the chief, since Hiccup was alive? That didn’t seem like something to be mad at Jack for. And it honestly didn’t make sense why Snotlout cared about who Hiccup liked- Astrid was all his if he wanted her.  
Hiccup sighed and began to douse the fire. He watched as the flames weakened, then went out. The teens went over to their dragons, curling up next to them to sleep. Hiccup smiled to himself, and turned to his dragon.  
“Alright bud. Let’s get some sleep.”  
He walked over to the tree and sat down next to Jack, his back leaning against the rough bark. Jack had sat back down, curled around his staff. Hiccup frowned, but said nothing. He rolled onto his side, facing away from Jack. If he wanted to be alone, he would let Jack be.  
“Hiccup…”  
Hiccup slowly rolled over to face Jack, sleep already starting to claim him.  
“Yes, Jack?”  
“I’m glad you are safe.” Jack looked like he wanted to say more, but refrained.  
“I’m glad you are back. I missed you.” Hiccup mumbled sleepily, moving closer to the icy boy. Jack did not pull away, encouraging Hiccup to place his head gently on his cool shoulder. It was silent for a minute before Hiccup continued.  
“Jack…”  
“Hmmm?” Jack was staring at his staff again, his mind far away from where he was physically.  
“You know if something is bugging you, you can talk to me. Right?”  
Jack sighed. “Hiccup. There is currently nothing to talk about.”  
Hiccup sighed, frowning and closing his eyes.  
“I know. You just seem-”  
Something cool touched his lips, cutting off his words. Hiccup’s eyes flew open in surprise, and then closed as he realized it was only Jack. Jack’s arm snaked around Hiccup’s waist, resting lightly just above his pants.  
Hiccup pressed himself closer to Jack’s cool body, his lips clamoring anxiously for his kisses. He wrapped his arm around Jack’s neck and pulled him close. Toothless raised his head and spread his wing over the boys, giving them a bit of privacy. Hiccup leaned back, laying down, pulling Jack to rest on top of him.  
Their lips continued the contact, never breaking apart the entire time. Toothless grumbled quietly, but neither by heard him. Hiccup began to see colors behind his closed eyelids.   
Why was it every time they kissed he had fireworks go off inside his brain? Hiccup wondered, but didn’t actually care. Hiccup was happy to have Jack back, and he was even more pleased that this was happening. Especially since just moments ago Jack was melancholy and antisocial.  
Hiccup could feel Jack’s cold hand as it began to creep up his tunic, gently tracing frosty patterns across his skin as it prickled from his touch. Hiccup gasped lightly, gently touching his tongue to Jack’s cool lips.  
Jack opened his mouth a little, allowing Hiccup to feel his frosty breath on his warm tongue. Without another thought, Hiccup plunged his tongue into Jack’s mouth, reveling in quiet moan that left Jack’s lips when he did so.  
Hiccup began to run one hand through Jack’s tousled white hair, feeling its softness caress his fingertips. Jack’s tongue began to enter his own mouth, and he allowed the intrusion with a gentle push into his body.   
He loved feeling Jack’s lips on his own, but all too soon, Jack broke the contact and cradled Hiccup to him. Hiccup was breathing heavy, his face feeling hot as he looked into the other boy’s bright blue eyes.   
They were sparkling with life once more. Hiccup smiled, glad to see the sparkle back in Jack’s eyes. Ever since Jack had arrived, he had seemed lifeless and worried. But now, Hiccup was seeing the Jack he loved come back out. The playful, carefree spirit was back.  
Jack returned the smile, his pure white teeth glistening in the dim moonlight that shone through a crack in Toothless’ winged protection.  
Freshly fallen snow. Hiccup though, shaking his head lightly.  
“I love you Hiccup.” Jack whispered, leaning his head against his head, a hand coming up to pet Hiccup’s messy brown hair. “When this is over, I want to stay in Berk with you. Please.”  
Jack’s whisper made Hiccup’s heart speed up; beating so loudly that he was afraid Jack was going to hear it. He swallowed, willing his heart to quiet down. He curled closer to the ice spirit, wrapping his arms around his skinny frame.  
“I love you too Jack.” Hiccup mumbled into Jack’s shoulder, sleep once again trying to claim him.  
Stop thinking of your little boyfriend…  
Hiccup’s heart began to fly as he remembered Snotlout’s angry comment. Boyfriend. A significant other, someone you care about and want to be with… possibly forever.  
It was what Hiccup wanted. He wanted Jack to be his, forever. He wanted Jack to stay in Berk with him and his father; he wanted to grow old with Jack by his side. Being the chief meant nothing, if Jack wasn’t going to be there with him.  
“And… I would like it very much if you would stay.”  
Hiccup felt Jack squeeze him gently. He looked up and met the snowy haired boy’s eyes once more. Jack smiled again and leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on Hiccup’s forehead. Hiccup closed his eyes, mentally yelling at his heart to stop beating so fast.  
“Now, my love, it is time for you to sleep.”  
Hiccup sighed, a little louder than he intended. “One thing more…” he mumbled, closing his eyes. His heart was refusing to slow, and his breathing was becoming hard to control now too.  
“What is it?”  
“Will… will you be mine… forever?”  
“I will always be here for you Hiccup-”  
“No. That’s not what I meant.” Hiccup opened his eyes and met Jack’s confused stare with newfound determination. Jack loved him, and he loved Jack. So why wouldn’t Jack want to be with him? He was getting really tired, and his eyes were getting heavier by the second. He fought the heaviness of his lids as he took a shaky breath.  
“Will you… be my…my boyfriend?”  
Jack’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and his bright blue pools widened. Pink colored his cheeks. Hiccup felt heat rising in his face again, this time out of shame. This wasn’t the right time to ask that kind of question. He shouldn’t have done this.  
Hiccup dropped his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. Now was the time he wanted to run- fly away from Jack and everyone, and be alone. Jack didn’t want to be with him that way. His response was obvious.  
How could he have been so stupid?  
Jack’s hand gently cupped Hiccup’s chin, lifting his head to look at him. Jack’s lips met Hiccup’s in a short, sweet kiss.  
“Yes, Hiccup. I will be your boyfriend.”  
Hiccup sighed, happy tears leaving his eyes.  
“Now go to sleep. Sweet dreams my little Viking.”


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Jack sighed quietly as he watched Hiccup sleep beside him. He was in such a deep sleep that Jack guessed the poor boy hadn’t actually _slept_ since he left. Hiccup frowned in his sleep, mumbling something about snowflakes. Around his neck was the snowflake prism, and Jack’s heart leapt with happiness.

 ** _We did find something Jack. We found his father’s helmet. Now that he is asleep I can tell you everything that has happened. The fight wasn’t all- or even the first. He hasn’t slept well since we left Berk, and not at all since he found the helmet._** Toothless said quietly, staring at the small boy lovingly. **_I’m glad he is sleeping now._**

Jack nodded absently, reaching out to brush the tangled brown locks of hair out of Hiccup’s face. “Any ideas of what this is?”

He was hoping for something that pointed to a normal, earthly catastrophe, but when Toothless shook his head, Jack’s face fell. He knew deep down that there was no other explanation, but he had hoped nonetheless.

**_You know something about this._ **

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. The Night Fury was a very perceptive creature, and Jack sighed inwardly.

“What do you know about rogue stars?” His voice was just above a whisper.

Toothless growled and hissed loudly, curling into a defensive position. His ear flaps were laid back flat against his head, his eyes were narrowed in to slits, teeth out, shoulders lowered and back raised.

Hiccup turned slightly, and Jack pulled the boy closer to his frosty body. He made a shushing sound and looked pointedly at Toothless.

“Don’t wake him.”

Toothless nodded, remaining in the crouching position, but relaxing slightly. His eyes no longer were narrowed, and his ears were no longer flat, but his sharp teeth remained out and visible.

**_Do not speak of those evil creatures!_ **

“So they are as dangerous as Manny says- if you are acting like this.”

**_Manny? What did Manny say?_ **

“You know Manny?” Jack asked; a little louder than he intended to speak, his blue eyes widening in surprise as he turned his head to look directly at Toothless. Hiccup turned again, making some sort of squeaking noise as he snuggled into Jack’s shoulder. Jack stared at him for a moment, ensuring Hiccup stayed asleep.

**_Yes. Man in the Moon is a very powerful spirit. He deserves respect from all creatures._ **

“Oh.” Jack curled himself carefully around Hiccup’s small frame, feeling his warmth and smirking slightly. No matter how grave the situation seemed, Jack felt happy feeling Hiccup’s warm body next to him. Knowing that he was here to protect Hiccup gave Jack strength he didn’t know he had.

“Manny says that a star has gone rogue and is bent on immortality.”

 ** _So we could very easily be walking to our deaths._** Toothless whispered. ** _This rogue already has a decent amount of strength, if it is bent on immortality; the storms could be the way it’s getting power._**

Jack nodded.

“I’m afraid of that Toothless.” Jack looked down to Hiccup once again. The boy was sleeping peacefully, and mumbling something about trolls. He was very talkative tonight, and Jack smirked again. He was just too cute.

“I’m afraid for everyone at Berk.”

_ The boy is not likely to survive. _

Jack shook his head, trying to clear the eerie memory. His smirk left his face, leaving a frown in its place. He didn’t want to think about anything about Hiccup’s possible death. It was just too much.

“Hiccup needs to live Toothless. I love him. I know you do too.”

Toothless nodded in understanding.

“Manny said he probably won’t survive.” Jack’s voice cracked slightly as he nuzzled his head into Hiccup’s messy hair. Toothless needed to know about this, no matter how painful the idea was.

**_Do not worry Jack. He will be fine. But you have to be careful. Recklessness is dangerous when dealing with rogues._ **

Jack winced, remembering Manny’s last words before he let Jack leave.

_ Your recklessness will be the end of you both. _

What did Manny mean?

**_Is there something else bothering you Jack?_ **

Jack sighed, swirling his staff in front of him, causing a small flurry to swirl around the three.

“Yeah. A few things.”

**_Come on Snowflake. Out with it._ **

Jack clenched his jaw, moving his eyes from the snow flurry to the young boy sleeping next to him.

“Is the reason he sees me because of you?”

**_Don’t try to change the subject._ **

Jack rolled his eyes, looking into Toothless’ face.

“I’m serious Toothless. I have wondered this for a while.”

Toothless sighed. His yellow-green eyes glimmered slightly in annoyance.

**_Yes Jack. Because of the strong bond Hiccup and I have, my spirit energy flows into him. He is able to see spirits, he doesn’t have to believe._ **

“I was right then.”

**_About?_ **

Toothless laid his head between his front legs, closing his eyes tiredly.

“If it weren’t for you, I would still be alone. I would be wandering around the world, sad and alone. Because of you, I am lucky to have him.” Jack closed his eyes and inhaled Hiccup’s earthy scent, calming his nerves.

He hadn’t realized just how alone he had been before Hiccup, and knowing the only reason he was happy now was simply because of a _bond_ was a bit eye opening.

 ** _But you wouldn’t have to worry about protecting him if you were alone._** Toothless opened one eye lazily, giving Jack a knowing stare.

“But I’m happy. I don’t mind worrying. I’m not alone, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know I am alive.”

Toothless nodded, closing his eyes again and sighing. Jack went back to watching the snow flurry, his mind reeling with thoughts. The flurry intensified.

 “Manny said my recklessness will be the end of us both.”

**_Yes. You tend to be reckless, Jack._ **

“But how do I not be? I never even knew I was reckless. Prankster, yeah. Playful, yeah. But reckless?”

**_Think before you act. That is really all I can say Jack. Without thinking, any action you do could kill everyone._ **

“Okay, so I need to think before I act and that will keep my recklessness away from the situation?”

 ** _It will help. You will always be reckless Jack. It’s in your nature, you can’t fully change. But it will moderate the amount of sheer stupidity you have, protecting not only Hiccup, but everyone else involved._** Jack’s mouth opened in protest.

Before Jack could say any more, Toothless moved his tail in front of his face, covering his eyes from view.

**_I’m tired Jack. We both need rest. Rogue stars are very trying and dangerous being to go against. We must be ready for anything._ **

Jack nodded, closing his eyes and pulling Hiccup a little closer. He listened to Hiccup’s nearly silent breathing. It calmed him a little, but his mind was reeling with thoughts and memories. He knew what he needed to do to protect Hiccup, Toothless and the other teens; but could he do it? The more he thought, the less Jack could comprehend.

Jack’s mind ran around and around until he wasn’t feeling tired, but before he could say something more to Toothless, he heard the giant dragon’s deep and constant breathing. At least he was able to sleep.

Jack sighed quietly. The snow flurry was still ensuing, and Jack’s mind was still running in circles. The flurry was showing just how upset he was. Jack pushed his staff into the air, a gust of wind pushing the oncoming snow storm away from him.

The morning was no doubt going to be a tough one.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_**Jack. Wake up you overgrown snowman.** _

"Mmmm…" Jack mumbled, turning slightly. He had really only just fallen asleep- not that he needed it. He was a spirit after all, and spirits didn't need sleep. But, after spending the past few weeks with Hiccup, Jack knew it felt good to sleep. He enjoyed it.

 _ **Jack, we must continue the search.**_  Toothless' voice was harsh, almost angry. Jack opened his eyes slowly.

"I'm up… I'm awake." Jack said, sitting up slowly. His body was stiff; the ground wasn't as comfortable as he had imagined it would be. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and reached out for his staff.

It was nowhere to be found. Jack stopped rubbing his eyes, his jaw dropping open as he looked around.

Hiccup was gone too.

"Toothless, my staff-"

_**Hiccup has it. He woke up to his cousin trying to break it. Snotlout is bent on sabotaging you.** _

Jack growled in annoyance. What did Snotlout have against him? His behavior was starting to get really annoying.

"Can I freeze him?"

_**No Jack. You cannot. Act like an adult for once, be better than the boy. You are much older than he is after all.** _

"But with everything he said to Hiccup yesterday, and then trying to sabotage me? He deserves at least a little freeze, and you know it. Maybe some frostbitten fingers and toes? I mean, come on Toothless, what have I done to him?"

Toothless shook his big head slowly.

_**You are acting childish again.** _

"So what if I am?" Jack folded his arms across his chest in indignation. "He will pay for what he has done to Hiccup, and to me."

_**Reckless creature. Vengeance is not what you need to be thinking about right now. We must tread lightly. He does deserve some form of punishment, but not from you. And certainly not right now.** _

"But Toothless. You just said he deserved punishment. So punish him. If I can't, you need to."

_**Jack, you should know by now that just because you are perpetually stuck at the age of seventeen, does not mean you can act like a brat.** _

Jack turned as Toothless let out a loud bark of laughter.

Standing just a few feet behind Jack, there stood a very irritated looking Stormfly. The Nadder was looking at him, an uncaring and cold glare crossing her features.

"Oh. Hey." Jack's face began to burn as his face pinked in embarrassment. No conversation seemed private anymore.  _Brat? I am not a brat!_  He thought angrily. He decided it was a bad idea to challenge the Nadder however, and let the name go.

"You're that blonde girl's dragon. Astrid is her name, right? What name were you given?"

_**Stormfly.** _

Her tone was not friendly.

Jack figured it was because the entire island was now covered in soft white powder. Jack's winter had spiraled out of control as he had slept, and now everything was void of color and freezing cold. He didn't feel the cold, but he could tell it was.

He did feel a little guilty for the snowstorm. It was going to make the search a bit harder now. And Hiccup would be cold. Frowning, he tried not to think about it.

"At least it is a pretty name."

Stormfly growled quietly.

She stretched her wings out, letting them span their full length. Jack was surprised they could span out at all, given the space between trees. Her display of displeasure did not go unnoticed by the ice teen. It was blatantly obvious she didn't care for him. She never really had.

Jack was just fine with that. He had Toothless, and Hiccup.

 _ **Stormfly, Jack said Manny believes this was caused by a rogue.**_  Toothless' voice was soft as he looked at Jack, his eyes narrowing as if he were studying the spirit.

Stormfly hissed, stepping backward and raising her spikes. Jack's bright eyes widened slightly in surprise. His jaw dropped slightly at her display of fear.

If both Toothless and Stormfly behaved in similar ways when rogue stars were mentioned, the enemy was even more dangerous and terrifying than Jack had first imagined.

_** Those ** _ **** _**creatures are behind this? I knew it wasn't human. But… a rogue? Manny is sure?** _

Toothless nodded.

_**We must be careful. Tell the others, please. I have to get Snowflake his staff before he gets any crankier.** _

Jack had had a concerned frown on his face on his face before he heard the Night Fury. The concern left his face, allowing a full blown frown to take root.

"HEY!"

Stormfly nodded and turned away from the two. Jack watched her go for a brief second then turned and gave a glare at Toothless, frost slowly creeping across the snow toward the dragon's big feet.

"I'm not cranky."

_**Sure you're not Snowflake. You are just brimming with joy because someone took your staff and woke your pretty butt up.** _

Before Jack could say anything more to the beast of darkness, he heard light footsteps and a familiar voice.

"Oh! Jack, you're up. Here, Snotlout tried to take your staff. I got it back for you. I know how important it is for you to have." Hiccup's voice was soft, yet extremely intense. In his right hand was Jack's staff. He held it out for Jack to take.

It looked extremely bare without the silver frost that flowed across the surface whenever Jack touched it.

"Thanks Hic." Jack said, taking the staff gently from the boy. He smiled as he saw a bright pink seep up into Hiccup's face.

His boyfriend. When had he gotten so lucky to have someone actually  _love_  him?

"No problem."

"So, are we ready to finish the search?" Jack said with a sigh, swinging his staff up onto his shoulder with a single flick of his arm. It was really time to get this search over with.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. I hope we find the survivors soon. I  _know_  my dad is still alive- I just have to find him."

 _ **We can only hope that this feeling he has is true.**_  Toothless shook his head, warbling loudly at Hiccup.

Jack glanced at Toothless, giving him a pointed glare. "Well then, let's go. We shouldn't keep him waiting."

Jack leapt into the air, where all the other dragons and riders were already flying. Toothless followed on his heels.

Jack sighed as he looked below him at the uneven, rocky, and now purely white ground. They had been searching for hours already, and hadn't found anything. None of the teens had spoken a word since the take-off.

The silence was starting to get to Jack.

_**Jack. Look over there. A giant cave.** _

"Yes. I see the freakishly huge hole in the mountain. What about it scaley?" Jack said, his voice dripping with irritation.

 _ **It looks like a good place to hide and recuperate from a shipwreck, Snowflake. That 'freakishly huge hole in the mountain' is a good place, not only because of shelter, but because of its size.**_ Toothless' voice was beginning to get harsher as he spoke to Jack.  _ **It is easily visible, which means that a search party would be idiotic to**_ _ **not**_ _ **look there. Really Snowflake, I thought you would have known that.**_

"Why do you keep calling me 'snowflake'?"

_**Is it getting to you?** _

"Of course it is getting to me! This silence is getting to me. What do you think, I like asking you rhetorical questions? Dumb lizard."

Before Toothless could come up with a response, a small voice broke through the air.

"Are you arguing with Toothless, Jack?" Hiccup asked, turning his head to look at the angry white haired teen. Snow was beginning to swirl around him.

"Not so much. We are just having a slightly unfriendly debate about the giant hole in the mountain."

 _ **There's nothing like a lover to calm you down.**_  Toothless said quietly.  _ **I do enjoy getting under your skin Jack. I will stop now though, or Hiccup will get upset with me.**_

Jack rolled his eyes. Sometimes he really hated the Night Fury. He imagined Toothless was just like a big brother to him though, if he had had any family at all.

"Well let's go check it out." Hiccup said.

"Kay."

Jack and Toothless dove down toward the ground, leaving the other teens scanning from the sky. Jack landed first, his bare feet touching the snow covered gravel on the beach in front of the cave. Ice began to creep over the earth, covering a two foot radius in every direction.

Toothless landed gracefully next to him, shaking his head quickly. Hiccup got off the mighty creature's back and began to move closer to the opening. The fog was thicker here on the beach than it had been higher up on the island.

Jack took a quick step closer to the hole.

 _ **Be careful Jack.**_  Toothless said, crouching low to the ground and baring his teeth. His big eyes were narrowed almost completely as he stared intently at the large cave opening.  _ **Something doesn't seem right here.**_

Jack nodded slowly. "Okay."

He slowly inched his right foot forward. He held his staff in front of him, ready to shoot an ice projectile in an instant.

Hiccup noticed the sudden shift in Jack's motions.

"What's going on Jack?" he whispered, swallowing quickly. It almost seemed instinctual as he moved to be behind Jack's stiff form. Nervously, he shuffled his prosthetic foot across the ground, kicking up snow and small rocks.

Jack didn't move.

"Jack?"

"Toothless senses something's up. He wants me to be careful."

Jack's eyes never left the opening of the cave. Toothless grumbled quietly, as if verbally affirming what Jack had said.

_**I feel it in the cave. Something is there.** _

"Oh." Hiccup peeked around Jack's frame, his green eyes squinting to see past the fog. "What does he think is in there?"

"We could be dealing with an extremely powerful being Hiccup, powerful enough to cause Toothless to be concerned." Jack's voice was barely over a whisper as he took another cautious step.

"Something more powerful than the Red Death?" the fear in Hiccup's voice was audible. It made Jack's heart break slightly, knowing that he was putting his beloved Viking in danger.

_ Your recklessness will be the end of you both. _

Before Jack could respond, his ears picked up on a strange sound. He froze, all of his senses on edge. He strained his ears to hear more clearly.

It sounded like low, raspy breath. It was uneven and labored. It sounded like it was just inside the cave opening. Slowly, he moved closer to the opening. As he inched closer and closer to the cave, the breathing sound hitched in a sharp sort of gasping sound. Jack peeked into the cave entrance, his eyes straining to see in the dim light.

His heart stopped at the sight he saw.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

      “Hiccup… Is…That…You?” The voice that met Hiccup’s ears was low and raspy. It struggled to be loud enough to be heard.

“Dad?” Hiccup’s heart sped up as he pushed in front of Jack, his eyes widening as they landed on Stoick’s pale, sickly form.

It had only been four days since Spitelout had come back. Bringing the total days they would have been surviving here to five; six at the highest. How was Stoick so thin? His muscles were gone; his big belly had all but evaporated.

Jack stood just inside the cave, frozen in place, his blue eyes wide with concern. Hiccup ran to his father, shouting to Toothless.

“Toothless, go get the others.”

Toothless turned and ran back out of the cave with a single worried warble, leaving Jack scanning around the inside.

Three dead bodies lay piled in a far corner; two males and one female. Their bodies were hard to make out in the shadows, but Jack could tell they were nothing more than shriveled husks. Their bones were very clearly defined through their encasings, some even protruding through the leathery leftovers of skin.

Hiccup looked around quickly, then back to his father.

Something didn’t feel right. The longer he sat next to Stoick, the stronger this feeling became. He swallowed a few times, trying to find his voice. Try as he might, he couldn’t speak. It was almost as if the feeling was a real being; it was suffocating him. Mentally, he called to Jack, willing the white haired boy to turn and look at him.

Astrid was the first teen to come into the cave. Her bright blue eyes widened in shock upon seeing Hiccup bent over Stoick. Her eyes slowly travelled around the cave, landing on the other person. She was leaning against the wall, gasping in shallow breaths of air.

“Mom!” Astrid’s voice was full of pain and worry as she ran to the woman.

Astrid’s mother was just as bad looking as Stoick. Her bones were showing clearly through her pale skin. Her eyes were sunken into her face, and partially rolled behind her head.

“Astrid, we need to get them out of here.” Hiccup’s voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears. His father was all but dead. He swallowed, and continued to talk quietly to Astrid. “We need to get them into the light so we can see their wounds better. Or off the island completely.”

“Let’s just get off this island. Something seems wrong here.” Astrid said, turning to look at the small brunette.

They both nodded, and Astrid quickly wrapped her arms around the woman, helping her up. She called out to Stormfly, but the call quickly turned to a cry of surprise and anguish.

The blonde haired woman fell out of Astrid’s arms and onto the ground, her body twisting in severe convulsions. She was gasping for air as she twisted and flopped around on the ground. There was an audible _crack_ as the woman’s back bones broke. Her eyes rolled all the way into the back of her head and glazed over, and with a small sigh, her body deflated into a withered, shrunken husk of leathery skin.

Astrid stood still, her eyes staring down at her mother’s still form. Her eyes were wide, her hands covering her open mouth in shock. Her knees were shaking. Hiccup sat still, his hands wrapped around one of Stoick’s boney hand. He wanted to run to Astrid and wrap her in a hug, but feeling his father’s weakness held him fast. Astrid’s knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground next to her mother.

Snotlout ran over to her, but when he put his arm out to comfort her, Astrid pulled away. A choked sob caught in her throat. Hiccup frowned, his heart aching for his friend. Toothless let out a sympathetic croon from the cave entrance. Hiccup felt her pain, and knew Toothless did too. He knew how she felt, and he knew that even though she pushed his embrace away, all she wanted was someone to hold her and tell her it would be alright.

Jack slowly walked over to Astrid, his staff cradled loosely at his side. He kneeled down next to her, gingerly placing his staff on the ground as far away from Snotlout as possible. All the while he didn’t touch her. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were dragging the other corpses out of the corner, their father amidst the withered remains.

Jack inched closer to Astrid, his knee bumping hers gently. She didn’t move, her eyes were wide as she blinked the oncoming tears away. Jack looked to Hiccup, his blue orbs full of sorrow. Hiccup nodded, knowing what he was asking, without even speaking.

Jack took a breath and wrapped his arms tightly around Astrid’s waist, enveloping her in a tight, close hug. She struggled slightly, trying to break free of his hold. Soon she settled down and nestled into the hug. Another sob rose in her throat.

“It’s okay Astrid… You can cry.” Jack cooed softly into Astrid’s thick blonde hair. Her body shivered slightly, and Jack let his grip on her loosen.

“What did this?” Astrid whispered, her eyes glistening with the unshed tears.

A slight gasp form Stoick brought Hiccup away from the conversation around him and back to his father. Stoick’s bright red beard was starting to pale in color- turning silver.

The normal bright green of Stoick’s eyes was dulled and glassy. Hiccup’s heart began to beat rapidly in panic. Was what has happened to Astrid’s mother going to happen to his father? Was that the way all of the survivors had died?

Hiccup swallowed again, trying desperately to find his voice.

“Dad? Dad, are you okay?” Hiccup’s voice sounded small as it echoed across the cave.

Jack looked up when he heard Hiccup’s voice. He let go of Astrid and slowly rose, picking up his staff as he did so. He walked over to the small brunette, Toothless creeping close behind him.

“Hiccup? What’s going on?”

Hiccup ignored Jack’s question and flinched slightly when he felt the boy’s cold hand as he rested it on his shoulder. He nodded slightly, acknowledging Jack’s presence, but not moving enough to let his father know there was something there.

The feeling of dread started getting worse.

“Snotlout… Help me get him up and onto Toothless.”

“Hiccup…” Stoick’s voice was sick and gravelly as he looked from Hiccup to Jack. His eyes narrowed slightly when his eyes landed on Jack’s hand.

Hiccup swore that Stoick could _see_ Jack. He was looking right at him; Snotlout had not yet moved, so he knew Stoick wasn’t staring at his nephew.

“Who… Is… That?”

Hiccup blinked. One way to test if his father could see was to play dumb.

“Who is what?”

“Hiccup, I think he sees me.” Jack whispered, leaning down and placing his cool lips to Hiccup’s ear. Clearly Jack had never had to play dumb before. Hiccup sighed silently, cursing Jack’s apparent innocence.

“Why… Wouldn’t… I see… You?” Stoick rasped, his eyes furrowing into a frown. Hiccup’s stomach dropped watching his father struggle to make a simple facial expression. It looked like it exhausted him to no end.

Jack nudged Hiccup lightly, and Hiccup looked at the boy. His blue pools were wide with excitement and worry and… fear.

Hiccup’s heart skipped a beat, seeing the fear in Jack’s eyes. Why was he afraid? Was it because Stoick was his father, and now that he could see Jack, did he think he wouldn’t be wanted? Or was he afraid Stoick would do something? The fear confused him.

Hiccup sighed and turned back to Stoick, patting Jack’s hand gently.

“Dad, Jack is a spirit. He is invisible to almost everyone in the world. I say almost because I can see him, so can Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs. And you too, I guess.”

Hiccup looked back to Jack, his eyes wide with oncoming confusion. Could Stoick really see Jack, or was it just some sort of trick of the light that Stoick _thought_ he saw someone? That would make sense, since he was so weak and close to death. People could hallucinate when they were fighting death, right?

But, he had responded to Jack; responded _directly_ to Jack.

Was it possible that when you were close to death, spirits could be seen, even if you didn’t believe? That seemed to make sense, since just a few weeks ago Stoick couldn’t feel Jack, let alone see him.

Toothless growled lowly. Hiccup frowned, shushing his dragon with a quick, pointed glare.

“Hiccup…” Hiccup turned back to Stoick.

“Why… Is this… Boy… Touching you… Like… A… Lover?”

Hiccup’s stomach dropped and his mouth went dry.

In all honesty, Hiccup had been hoping Stoick wouldn’t see Jack. At least… not right away. It was already really hard explaining everything to the other teens. And… he hadn’t even explained everything yet. He didn’t have the first idea how to tell his dad…

“Hiccup?” Jack whispered, his fingers gripping into Hiccup’s shoulder hard. Hiccup could tell that his hesitation was causing Jack some turmoil, to say the least. Worry.

Hiccup shook his head and sighed. He knew this was going to happen eventually. He should have been prepared for this before he had asked Jack to be his.

This was happening. Now.

Astrid stood slowly, turning to Hiccup. She took slow, deliberate moves toward him, her eyes wide and unblinking, as if in a trance. She didn’t say a word, but her eyes, though blank, held the question that everyone had thought but never asked. The question Stoick had. Everyone now had their eyes pinned on him, even the dragons.

“Hiccup?” Jack said again, no longer whispering.

Hiccup could hear the worry and fear in Jack’s voice. Worry because he was hesitating. Fear because he was hesitating. Did he really love Jack? Yes. Did Jack know? Yes. But the hesitation to tell his father could cause doubt. He needed to speak. Now, before things got worse.

Hiccup took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Dad, Jack is…” He paused for a moment, breathing hard. This was a lot harder than just introducing a spirit to someone. His voice was calm and clear as he finished, “My boyfriend.”

Snotlout gasped loudly. Astrid seemed to snap out of her trance and her mouth dropped open in shock. Fishlegs stared at Hiccup with wide eyes, and the twins kept their eyes down and focused on the ground.

Hiccup saw Jack let out a silent sigh. He smiled slightly to Hiccup. Hiccup returned the smile.

It felt good to say it out loud. His heart raced with joy and exhilaration. He felt a bit freer, knowing that now, everyone knew. Regardless of everyone’s reactions, he was glad he had spoken.

He looked to Stoick, looking for any reaction. Stoick just stared at Hiccup, his eyes wide, but the look was not from shock or surprise. The color was beginning to fade from his eyes.  He said nothing.

“Hiccup, are you serious?” Astrid asked quietly. Hiccup nodded, turning from his father to meet her eyes. He had never been more serious.

“I knew it!” Snotlout hissed, walking up to his cousin. His hands were balled into fists, a scowl spread across his features. “I got yelled at for knowing the truth! You are a freak! Why would we want a freak like you leading our people?”

He shook his fists angrily at Hiccup, the anger showing clearly in every move he made and every sound that escaped his lips.  “We will all die out because of this- if the chief won’t reproduce, then who will want to?”

Hiccup looked down at the ground. He knew Snotlout had many good points.

First… he was a freak. He had always known that. He was the smallest Viking on Berk. He never could get anything right and almost always ended up setting the village on fire. He had been told from day one he didn’t fit in. He wasn’t normal.

Second… his choice in attraction. Liking a spirit wasn’t normal. You never heard of someone falling in love with their imaginary friend; and that’s what Jack was to almost everyone else. If you added the fact that said spirit was a guy… well, to a normal person it was freakishly weird.

But… Hiccup wasn’t a normal boy.

He didn’t have to follow the same rules as someone like Snotlout. He could live _outside_ the box.

He was the first Viking to ride a dragon. Not just any dragon; the second most deadly and dangerous dragon known to Viking-kind. He had _trained_ a Night Fury. He had saved his entire tribe from the Red Death; the _most_ deadly dragon, without a second thought. He could see spirits, without being close to death or being frozen in place. He was the only one of his tribe that could do that.

To Hiccup, this _was_ normal.

“How _dare_ you say things like that about him!”

He looked up again just as Jack took a step forward, his staff pointed directly at Snotlout’s face. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of Jack’s cloak. Jack turned and looked at Hiccup, his eyes brimming with anger.

“Yes Snotlout. I am a freak.” Hiccup said slowly, his eyes never leaving his boyfriend’s face. “I am a freak compared to all of you. But, this” he gestured to Jack and then to himself, “isn’t strange for me.”

He met his cousin’s eyes, and held the glare that met him. “I don’t care what you think about me. I have already led well. I have done more than you ever will. So yes, I am a freak, but only because I am more free than you.”

Jack smiled, relaxing and stepping back to be beside Hiccup.

Just as he stopped moving, Toothless growled loudly. Hiccup frowned and turned to his dragon in concern. Jack went back to a battle position. Stoick gasped loudly, his lungs rattling for air.

Suddenly, a hollow, deep voice echoed throughout the cave.

“Aww… Freedom, and love. That is so admirable. Too bad life’s too short for some of us to actually experience _true_ freedom.”


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“Too bad life’s too short for some of us to actually experience _true_ freedom.”

Jack turned, his staff held at the ready. All around him the cave grew dark, as if any and all light was being sucked away. All the teens looked around the cave, eyes squinting with the little light that remained. After a moment, Fishlegs cried out, running for the opening. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled through the fog layer and out of sight.

 ** _Jack. It is a rogue._** Toothless shook his head, moving closer to the ice spirit and obscuring Hiccup’s view. He let out a light growl, as a warning to the other dragons, who immediately went on high alert.

Jack’s eyes scanned the cave.

Behind Snotlout, a figure began to emerge; materializing from the shadows. All the other dragons hissed and growled, taking steps away from the creature materializing behind the young Viking. Snotlout and the other Vikings seemed completely oblivious to the thing’s presence.

 ** _We must be extremely careful Jack._** Toothless’ eyes turned slightly to glance at Jack. **_All stars have different temperaments. He could snap at the slightest syllable. Whatever happens, don’t be reckless._**

Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on the forming mass.

“Jack? What’s going on?” Hiccup tried to peek between Jack and Toothless. His voice was so soft. Jack’s heart pinched.

_ Your recklessness will be the end of you both. _

_You have to live Hic. I love you._ Jack thought, trying to clear his head enough to think. He had a job to do- protect his human love, the boy’s tribe, and defeat this rogue star, all while living.

“It’s a rogue star Hiccup. It is the only being that causes the mighty Toothless to have nightmares. Can you see?”

“No… but, I can hear. And the dragons are all freaking out.” Hiccup’s voice seemed smaller and quieter as he continued to look for the owner of the deep hollow voice. “Did this… rogue star… do this?”

Jack turned his head slightly to look into Hiccup’s paling face. It seemed he knew the answer before Jack spoke.

“Yes.”

Jack turned back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on the figure. How could Hiccup hear, but not see?

**_It’s in the shadows Jack. The dark and the fog make it hard for human eyes to see. We are very different. Your eyes are like mine- keen. Hiccup is lucky he can still see your cape._ **

Jack nodded, thanking Toothless silently for explaining. Sometimes, when he talked with the mighty dragon, he felt like a complete idiot. In all honesty, Jack regularly forgot that Hiccup was only a human; a small, fragile human.

The figure moved slowly out of the shadows and clearly into Jack Jack’s line of sight. Jack’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he took in the figure’s form. He heard Hiccup let out a small gasp behind him, and Jack knew Hiccup could now see.

A man stood next to Snotlout. He was extremely tall, about as tall as Stormfly, and extremely skinny. Not a sickly thin like Stoick was, but a well toned, muscular thin. His face was angular, with a pointed chin and crooked nose. His hair was a frosty white, much like Jack’s hair. It was long, all the way down to his calves. Half of it seemed to be pulled back behind his head, but even with it pulled back the man’s ears could not be seen.

His skin was a pale cream color- and he seemed to glow. The light that seemed to glow around him was a light buttery yellow color. The man’s eyes were a deep purple color, with a power that seemed to suck Jack into unconsciousness.

“Who are you?” Jack asked, his voice hardening. Astrid looked at Jack with a confused stare. Snotlout looked left and right, his grey green eyes narrowing.

“Ummm… Jack?” Astrid said nervously. “Who are you talking to?”

“My name is Axel Night.” The man said, his hollow voice sounding a little scratchy. “And you are the young spirit that has been annoying Man in the Moon for fifty-eight years… Frost, is it?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip on the staff. Frost was slowly creeping up the curve of the slender wood, heading toward the tip.

**_Jack._ **

“And you…” Axel said, turning his gaze to Toothless, “Are called Toothless. You are a Night Fury- the second most dangerous and powerful dragon in the world. How fun. I do hope you are stronger than the other dragons I have had. The stronger a soul is; the more fun it is to drain.”

Toothless hissed. **_You won’t get a chance. I’ll see to that._**

“Oh? What’s going to stop me? Surely not your little human. Hiccup… Hiccup. Aren’t you glad I kept him alive for you?”

Hiccup’s eyes widened and he turned back to his father. Stoick lay gasping for air, but nothing had changed. His beard was now pure white, his eyes almost completely dimmed out.

“Hiccup?” Astrid took a step toward the brunette, her big blue eyes misty with tears. Her hands were shaking a little bit. She froze when Jack met her eyes with an intense glare.

“Hiccup…” Stoick rasped, reaching blindly for Hiccup’s hand.

Hiccup took a step back to try to grab his father’s hand. But before he could grab it, Stoick’s hand dropped back to his side.

“You… Must… Get… Out. Protect… Yourself… And… The… Tribe.”

“No dad. I won’t leave you.” Hiccup’s voice cracked again as he looked nervously to Jack.

“I… Can’t… Watch… You… Die.” Stoick whispered, closing his eyes tiredly.

**_Jack. We must protect the tribe. At all costs._ **

Jack nodded, moving as slowly as he could to get closer to the star.

Axel began to glow a little brighter and Jack froze completely, looking through the corner of his eye to his love and Stoick. Stoick shook slightly, seeming to fight an invisible being at his throat as he gasped for air. Hiccup’s eyes widened into saucers as he knelt at his father’s side. His tiny hands were wrapped around Stoick’s large left hand.

“He is fighting eternal sleep. Still. How delightful. This is so fun.” Axel smiled, his eyes sucking Jack away from everything. His smiled faded. In his hand was a long dagger. “Although… it is getting extremely annoying. Much like how humans feel when bit by a bug.”

The dagger shimmered and glinted, even though they were covered in shadow. Axel began to spin the dagger through his fingers. Flicking his wrist, the dagger switched hands and the dagger began to spin in his other hand. Jack’s mind was beginning to dull and he was struggling to keep his focus.

“Well, maybe if I play with my new toys for a little while, he will be ready to give in.”

**_Jack! Look out._ **

Before Jack could register what Toothless said, he felt a sharp pain rake along his arm. He could hear his tunic ripping cleanly apart. The pain began to dull to a burn.

“Ahh…” Jack hissed in anguish as he dropped his staff to grab his arm.

“Jack!” Hiccup shouted, dropping his father’s hand and running up to him, his bright green eyes shining with unshed tears. “Are you okay?”

“What’s going on?” Astrid asked quietly.

“Astrid, Snotlout. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, get out of here. Take Stoick with you. Get back to Berk.” Jack ordered through clenched teeth. The pain was slowly getting stronger and he was starting to see spot of color from the pain. “Find Fishlegs and get him out too.”

The teens nodded and began to move toward Stoick.

“Hiccup. Go with them.” Jack turned away from Axel to look the brunette in the eyes. Before Hiccup could respond, a hollow, gravelly voice spoke.

“How reckless.”

Another searing pain formed across his back. Jack cried out and arched his back. He pushed Hiccup away from him and into Toothless.

“Jack!”

Jack ignored the call and turned away from Hiccup and back to Axel, tears stinging his eyes and blurring his vision slightly. If he had to sacrifice his life for his Viking and his tribe, he would. Toothless would protect Hiccup. Jack knew he could ensure his little Viking’s protection.

He picked up his staff and held it, not quite at the ready, but pretty close.

The pain in his back began to dull like the one in his arm had. Blood trickled lightly down his arm. Jack shuddered, feeling his blood draining from and dripping down his back. This feeling was not one he cared for.

He heard all the teens freeze and turn. He didn’t have to see them to know they were watching what was going on. They really didn’t listen well to him. If he had been Hiccup and given them an order they probably would have followed it to the ‘T’. But, even Hiccup wasn’t listening to him.

**_Jack. You cannot do this alone._ **

Toothless was grumbling lowly, his wing hovering protectively over a visibly fuming Hiccup. Jack’s heart pinched again. Of course Hiccup wouldn’t listen. This was dangerous, and Jack was trying to take it on alone.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t be fighting alone. Hopefully, he would just be buying time for the Guardians to show up. They would come, since a rogue star was an issue to _everyone,_ wouldn’t they? It was kind of their job to protect the humans… and this rogue could destroy all that the Guardians protected. They would come, and he would have given them time to get here…

Maybe, if he chose his reply to Toothless wisely, the teens would understand what he was trying to do.

 “Toothless, protecting Hiccup and the tribe comes before anything else.”

He heard Astrid gasp. At least she understood. If she understood his meaning, she could coerce the others to continue.

Jack forced his eyes to meet Axel’s. Determination was expressed clearly in his bright blue eyes. Axel’s dark purple eyes did not waver from the young spirit’s, holding him in a cruel stare. The knife still glimmered in his hand.

Suddenly, the knife disappeared from Axel’s hand. Replacing it was a blob; a light golden colored blob, of dust. It was eerily similar to Sandy’s dreamsand. It floated around Axel’s hand lazily and softly, like silk. Axel smiled, his eyes gleaming.

Jack shivered once more, but this time not from the blood dripping down his back. The look on Axel’s face was so evil, his hairs stood on end and he got goose bumps. Why would Man in the Moon want to create something with such an evil capacity?

“Jack.” Jack blinked rapidly, keeping his eyes locked on the star. The man had replaced the blob of dust with a long, glittering rope. He was swinging it lazily.

“You like fun, right?” The hollow voice held a certain amount of huskiness, making Jack shudder internally. He watched as Axel’s eyes darted quickly to Hiccup and then back, his eyes filling with mischievous evil. Jack looked behind him to Hiccup, who was no longer fuming. He was glaring at Axel, his green eyes seeming to glow with anger in the dim light of the cave.

Jack smiled quickly, trying to assure himself that nothing was going to happen to his beloved little Viking. He turned back to Axel, his eyes a little wider than normal. What was he planning?

“Well, don’t you like to have fun?”

“Yes… I do like fun…” Jack replied slowly, his hands shaking just the slightest. He suddenly had a feeling of dread. “Why?”

The last question was no louder than a breath. But, Axel smiled as if he had heard the question in a normal voice. He ignored it for a moment, looking around to the teens.

“All of you young Vikings have an issue listening. He told you to do something, shouldn’t you follow directions?” Axel’s voice held an insane amount of malice.

Like a cannon, the teens burst into action. Hiccup was the only one that didn’t move. Axel smiled, chuckling slightly. With a wave of his hand he shot a beam of dust past Jack. Jack turned to see where it was going. He heard Astrid cry out in shock before he saw what had happened.

Stoick was trapped in a cage of golden dust.

“He is to stay here. The rest of you… hmm.” Axel’s voice softened slightly as he thought. “I don’t want you to miss the fun.”

With another wave of his hand he shot another beam of dust, trapping the teens in a giant golden dome.

 ** _You are an evil creature!_** Stormfly’s voice was shrill as she directed a flame toward the star. Stepping out of the way, Axel shot another beam, trapping all of the dragons. His cold gaze travelled across the dragons, and then the teens.

“How odd. There seems to be one more dragon than there are children.” He smiled and waved his hand again. Fishlegs had not moved from the shore, and was lifted into the air and dropped into the dome with the other teens.

“Much better.”

Jack looked around. Hiccup and Toothless were the only others not placed in giant golden cages.

“Jack.” The hollow voice cooed, causing Jack to turn back and stare wide eyed at the star. The smile that greeted him was sickeningly cruel.

“Let’s have some fun, okay?”

With that, the rope shot out and snaked around Hiccup’s waist. With a small tug, the rope shot back to Axel, pulling Hiccup away from Toothless, trapping him at Axel’s side.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Hiccup’s eyes widened as he was yanked harshly to Axel’s side. The glittering dust wrapped around his body, restricting his movements completely. Hiccup squirmed in discomfort, attempting to loosen the particles snaking around his body.

“Jack?” he squeaked, struggling harder against the dust.

“Hiccup!” Jack took a step forward, then he froze.

Axel had his hand around Hiccup’s throat. Hiccup shivered involuntarily at Axel’s touch. It was freezing. Much colder than Jack’s touch. This cold was different from Jack’s too. It held no warmth, no glimmer of emotion, and it was uncomfortable. Hiccup didn’t like this cold. His heart began to race as he tried to separate himself from the cold that was surrounding him.

He looked at Jack with wide eyes. The face that looked back at him was one filled with worry, and pain. Jack’s eyes were wide with fear as he held his staff at the ready.

But he did not move.

Hiccup struggled again. Why wasn’t Jack doing something? Why was Toothless crouching behind Jack, his eyes sad and frightened? What was going on?

From the golden domes, Hiccup could hear the teens shouting and pounding on their prison, and he could see the dragons shooting flames, trying to break through. Neither group was getting anywhere though.

“Why are you doing this?” Jack’s voice was just above a whisper. His eyes never left Hiccup’s face, his eyes sparkling with the beginning formation of tears.

Axel laughed and pulled Hiccup closer to his body.

Hiccup shivered again, squirming a little harder. Neither Jack or Toothless made a move.

“Isn’t it obvious Jack?” Axel said just as quietly, his voice low and gravelly. His smile mocked Jack, teasing him about his incompetence.

“I’m doing it to get under your skin. I like watching my prey squirm and fight. It is _fun._ ”

“But _why_? Why…”

“Oh… You mean all of _this_.”

Axel gestured around the cave with his free arm. The littered ground came into view, glittering dust swirling around the cave.

Hiccup squirmed again, his attempts weakening as he began to shiver almost uncontrollably. Jack nodded slightly.

“Let me tell you a story then.”

Suddenly the golden dust snaked around Jack’s ankle and yanked him up into the air. Surprised, Jack dropped is staff and let out a shriek. Toothless dashed forward and gently scooped up the wood between his black lips.

“But first…” Axel smiled coldly and sent the dust whirling to the other end of the cave, launching Jack into the wall, hard.

Hiccup watched in horror as his boyfriend was thrown onto the wall. The dust disappeared and Jack dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap of brown and white.

“Jack!”

Hiccup could faintly hear Jack’s pained groan as he began to slowly sit up. The dragons were now extremely quiet and were watching closely. The dust rope appeared and wrapped around Jack’s waist and threw him to the other side of the cave, landing him next to the teens and Stoick’s prison. The teens were silent too as they watched Jack’s body become bloodied and battered from being thrown wall to wall.

Stoick was laying still, his chest slowly heaving as he struggled to breathe. Hiccup squirmed violently, trying to escape his captor and reach the white haired boy. Toothless stood still, his eyes narrowed toward Jack, then he looked back to Hiccup and the star.

“One more time. Just to ensure you don’t do anything while I talk.”

A loud crack was heard as Jack was thrown again. Toothless growled, but didn’t move to attack. Jack’s staff was still held gently in his mouth.

“Jack!”

Hiccup felt the dust that had been curling around his body disappear. Without a second thought Hiccup dashed to the boy’s side. Kneeling down, he rolled Jack over, gently pulling him into his lap.

“Jack? Jack, please wake up. Wake up.”

Hiccup wrapped his arms around Jack’s limp body and pulled him close. Blood was trickling down the back of his head, but not enough to worry Hiccup. He placed his head on Jack’s chest, listening for a heartbeat.

There was a slight pulse.

With a sigh, Hiccup straightened up.

“Thank the gods you are still alive.” Hiccup whispered as Toothless began to creep carefully to his side. He warbled gently and laid down next to the pair of boys.

Jack groaned quietly and opened his eyes slowly. His eyes were a very pale blue, and his normally pale skin was beginning to darken as bruises starting forming on his face and arms.

“Good. Now I can start.” Axel’s voice sounded just behind Hiccup’s ear, and the small brunette jumped slightly. Axel’s cold seemed to permeate the air, and Hiccup shivered again. Axel’s cold was unbearable.

“I was born three thousand, seven hundred and fifty six years ago. It was about three hundred years after the last star’s rebellion.”

“Wait. Why is that important? Why do we care?” Hiccup snapped, his head glancing up slightly.

“Ah-ah-ah!” Axel said in a singsong voice that was much too high pitched for him. Hiccup looked up and met the star’s cold purple eyes.

“Interruptions are not acceptable. From a boy of your caliber, I would have expected more from you.”

Toothless growled loudly, his eyes narrowing.

“For your interruption, I shall have to punish you- to teach you a lesson.”

Hiccup’s eyes widened and he held Jack’s battered body tighter.

“No…”

Ignoring Hiccup’s whispered denial, Axel’s face twisted into a thoughtful expression.

“Punishment directly to you wouldn’t do… my point wouldn’t get across. Maybe….”

Axel’s voice trailed off as the golden dust swirled between his fingers. He watched the dust for a little while, his eyes glazing slightly as he stared.

“Yes…. I will punish Jack instead.”

“ _No!_ ”

“Oh, yes. For each interruption you make, little Jackie will take your punishment.”

“Hiccup? What…. What’s going on?” Jack’s voice was rough as he tried to move. He squinted and reached his hand to his head. His eyes were glassy. Hiccup could tell he was still trying to shake the last episode of flying through the air and hitting the wall.

“Shhh… it’s nothing Jack. It’s okay. Just relax.”

The dust began to curl its way slowly toward Jack and Hiccup. Jack nodded lightly and closed his eyes.

“Please… don’t. I’m sorry! I won’t interrupt again. Please…. Please don’t hurt him.” Hiccup’s eyes filled with tears as he watched the dust continue to slip closer to Jack’s bare feet. Suddenly, the dust froze. It sat, curling around itself, just barely touching Jack’s foot. Hiccup looked up and met Axel’s cold purple eyes. He could feel the tears welling up and blurring his vision.

“Very well….”

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief.

“I am not known for compassion, little human. However, I am feeling a bit generous today. I shall show you some mercy.”

The dust snaked back and began to swirl lazily around Axel’s hands once more.

“Thank you, thank you…..” Hiccup muttered as he pulled Jack into a tight embrace.

“Next time the boy will not be so lucky.”

The threat rang coldly in the air. Hiccup shuddered inwardly and puffed out his cheeks.

“Where was I?”

“You were born three thousand, seven hundred and something years ago.” Hiccup whispered, pushing some of the matted white strands of hair from Jack’s face. He frowned as he noticed Jack’s normally pale skin growing even paler. He wasn’t getting colder though, which Hiccup was grateful for.

“Ah yes… Three thousand, seven hundred and fifty six years ago… Three hundred years after the last star rebellion. I grew up learning about the stars that lost their lights during the rebellion. As a star myself, I knew I was doomed to one day lose my light like those stars.”

Hiccup raised his hand into the air cautiously, hoping to get the star’s attention.

“What?” Axel snapped, obviously irritated by Hiccup’s non verbal interruption. He knew that Hiccup wanted clarification for something.

“Why do you say ‘’doomed’?”

Toothless warbled again, softer this time, and laid down next to his rider, and directly behind the injured spirit. Hiccup could feel his dragon’s worry.

“What?” Axel looked perplexed as he stared at the young brunette.

“You said you were doomed to lose your light. What do you mean by doomed? And what does it mean to lose your light? Is that like, a star’s equivalent to human’s death?” Hiccup’s bright eyes were narrowed in confusion as he stared at the tall star.

“Ah… I forget that you humans are so narrow-minded and so easily lost. Oh well… I suppose I should condense it down so your little mind can understand.”

“That would be nice. Please. Thanks.” Hiccup looked back down to Jack’s form. The bruises were already leaving his body.

 _It must be nice to heal quickly like that._ Hiccup thought, frowning. He was glad that Jack was healing, but he was concerned that if Axel found out, he would throw him against the wall again. Hiccup did not want for that to happen.

“When a star is born, they create a light. It is their life force, so to speak. When humans are born, they go through different stages of life, it is different for us. When we are born, we do not age in different stages. Our lights start out bright, and the longer we live, the dimmer our lights go. We do not control this life. I say doomed because I do not control my life. I do not control what I do with my light, whether I actually live, or not.”

“So… you say doomed because you didn’t have a choice in your own life span?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Hiccup nodded in understanding.

“I am trapped in a never ending cycle of death and nothingness. We are not allowed to leave the sky. Even among my fellow stars, I was mostly ignored. Man in the Moon took me under his wing, as an apprentice of sorts. I was… for all purposes… his right hand man. I was cursed to watch him cut the life-lines of my fellow stars, watched him snuff the lights out of many stars, my family.”

“Why does Man in the Moon do that?”

Axel sighed and swirled his dust around his hands. Hiccup swallowed hard and pushed back to lean against his Night Fury. Toothless nudged him gently.

“I came to realize that Man in the Moon controlled everything, my future as well. Growing up with these stories of the star’s rebellion, I am naturally afraid that one day, I will just go out. Secretly I began to read his dictations and theories of immortality and spirits. I read the histories of the stars. The real histories; not the ones that I was told as a new star.”

Hiccup looked at Axel in confusion.

“They were firsthand accounts of the battles: reasons behind every rebellion, who started it and so on.”

“Oh.”

Jack twitched slightly and opened his eyes again. Hiccup brushed his hands through Jack’s white hair, tousling it gently. Jack smiled. His blue eyes were slowly gaining color, and they were no longer glassy. He slowly squirmed into a sitting position, leaning heavily on Toothless’ front leg for support.

Axel nodded.

“I was planning to rebel, to gain my freedom. I knew how likely it would be for me to succeed with the little power I wielded. I knew that I needed more power in order to succeed. It was then that I stumbled upon Man in the Moon’s secret stash of power papers. Everything I wanted and needed to know about immortality was written there.”

“Hic…up.”

Stoick’s voice could barely be heard through the golden dome. Axel ignored the man’s whispered plea for his son. His cold eyes locked in to Jack’s slightly dazed blue eyes.

“Did you know that dragons and spirits have the highest power? By drawing their lives I can get almost five times as much power than if I drained all the humans in the world.”

Jack shook his head slowly in visible protest.

“Yes. Did you know that Man in the Moon was also a star? He drained _all_ of the Sandman’s family. He only left Sandman alive because the children of the world still need their dreams. Man in the Moon took his memories and his voice in exchange for his life.”

Jack’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

“I do not want any more stars to suffer the fear of death. I want them to be able to choose when to die- to choose to live a little. We are all beings after all. We all deserve to live.”

“So… in order to give the rest of the stars what you want you have to…. Basically destroy an entire race, or most of one, at least?” Hiccup’s voice was tight as he glanced from Jack to Toothless to his father across the cave.

Axel nodded, his smile coming across his face.

“You can’t get away with this, Axel. You _won’t_ get away with this.” Jack forced the words from his mouth as he tried to sit up on his own.

“Oh?” Axel laughed harshly, taking a step toward the spirit and the brunette helping him sit up.

“What is going to stop me? You surely won’t.”

Jack dropped his gaze, biting his bottom lip. Hiccup’s eyes widened a fraction and then went back to normal, seeing Jack’s thoughtful expression. He was trying to find an answer that would save everyone, and not put himself in danger.

Before Jack could respond, a different voice answered from the darkest corner of the cave.

“He may not…. But we will mate.”


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Jack’s mind was reeling. Maybe it was from being thrown from wall to wall… or maybe it was from all of the seemingly selfless information that was pouring out of Axel’s mouth. All he could manage to say had come out as a challenge. A stupid, worthless challenge.

As Jack forced his brain to think of a good enough excuse to fix his oral slip up, and a proper response to answer Axel’s sneering challenge, he heard a familiar voice speaking calmly from somewhere in the shadows.

“We will mate.”

Jack’s eyes darted around the cave, trying to find the giant rabbit.

 ** _Jack, who was that?_** Toothless was also looking around, but his focus was drawn more to the dangerous star than on the mysterious voice.

Axel turned sharply, his eyes shining with anger and confusion.

“Who said that?” he ordered, his dust swirling protectively around his long body. His eyes darted back and forth, searching the shadows for the owner of the deep Australian voice.

“Ooh! I wonder how his teeth are!”

Jack rolled his eyes at hearing Tooth’s emphatic exclamation about the idea of Axel’s teeth. Even though he couldn’t see them, he could hear Tooth’s hummingbird wings flittering wildly. Why were they here? Did they come to stop him, or help him?

**_Jack… Are those?..._ **

Toothless stopped mid-question. Jack nodded slightly, wrapping his arm around Hiccup’s arm. Hiccup looked down at Jack, his eyes carefully assessing the damage. Jack was happy that Hiccup cared so much, but was worried about what could happen. If the Guardians were here to stop him, then Jack was going to be going up against not just one enemy, but five.

But he needed to protect Hiccup.

“Help me stand, please, Hic.” His voice came out a lot weaker than he expected.

Hiccup nodded and stood, moving carefully so as not to disturb any of Jack’s injuries. He reached his hands out to Jack, and the white haired spirit took them quickly and pulled himself up, glad to be off of the hard rocky ground. He smiled in thanks and carefully turned back to face Axel.

Axel was still searching for the voices in the shadows.

“Jack! We came to help. Manny said you would need it.” Axel turned to Jack, and his deep purple eyes narrowed. His bodily glow seemed a bit brighter as his anger surfaced.

“Uuhh… Thanks.” Jack looked down at the ground so as not to look at the star. The Guardians had shown up to help, which was good… but he wasn’t sure _how_ they were going to help.

Stoick lay gasping, his breathing becoming harder and louder as he tried to gather all the air he needed to fill his lungs.

“Show yourself! I command it!” Axel shouted, his long white hair swirling out from his body slightly. The yellowish glow dimmed a bit as Axel regained his composure.

“Alright.” North’s voice seemed too cheerful as he stepped from the darkest corner of the cave. His giant red and black fur hat fit snugly on his head, and his swords were sheathed tightly at his sides. His blue eyes sparkled and popped off his face in contrast to his pinked cheeks.

Bunnymund followed, standing on his hind legs, his arms folded across his chest. Two boomerangs were held at his sides by his big furry hand-paws. His green eyes shown with hope and determination and his ears twitched ever so slightly.

Tooth and Sandman left the shadows together. Sandy had his dreamsand turn into a very long whip. It was rolled around into a tight coil, ready to lash out and do the damage needed, if needed. Tooth zoomed over to Jack and landed lightly beside him. Her bright lavender eyes were wide with worry as she took in his appearance.

“Are you alright? You look like you have taken a pretty big beating already.”

Jack nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Jack? Who are you talking to? Who else is here?” Hiccup looked left and right, not seeing the giant bird lady standing right in front of him.

Before Jack could answer, Tooth had taken notice of the small brunette.

“Is this the human? Are his teeth nice? I bet they are simply wonderful…. Maybe they are even better than yours!” She reached out to look open Hiccup’s mouth. Hiccup’s eyes widened as Tooth shimmered into view, her face inches away from his- excitement exploding over her features. She yanked his mouth open and looked carefully at his teeth, a smile brimming over her features.

“Aghh…. Mmm…ugh!” Hiccup sputtered, trying to back away from the woman intruding his mouth. His eyes darted over to Jack in a panic. Jack chuckled slightly, and put his hand lightly on Tooth’s outstretched arm to bring her back to the problem they were facing.

“Oh… sorry….” Mumbled Tooth as she backed away from Hiccup. “They are nice teeth.”

Axel growled in annoyance, bringing the cheerful air that had permeated the cave to a thick standstill. All eyes went from Hiccup and Jack back to the tall star standing angrily facing them.

“If you think you can stop all of this,” Axel waved his hand lazily around the cave, “you are all seriously mistaken.”

“Do you know who we are?” Bunny’s voice was low and forceful. Jack could tell he was trying to remain calm. And he was failing.

“Yes…” Axel’s voice was calm. “I know who you are.”

Jack looked to Hiccup, then to Toothless. Axel was extremely calm. The calm was sending shivers of terror over Jack. It was as if the Guardians were young, annoying children and this star was an old, knowledgeable man. He was simply toying with the Guardians… completely comfortable with his position.

It was more frightening than when he was angry.

“You, you are Bunnymund-The Easter Bunny… the bringer of hope.” Axel smiled knowingly. “You have some anger issues, and Frost brings out your worst most often than anyone else.”

Bunny narrowed his eyes and unfolded his arms from his chest.

“Hiccup! Stoick is…” Astrid called to Hiccup as she leaned over Stoick’s sickly body. A slight sob broke through, stopping Astrid’s sentence in her throat.

Jack’s heart dropped into his stomach.

Smiling cruelly and stopping his talking, Axel pulled the dust imprisonment away from the Vikings. Jack and Hiccup ran to Stoick’s side. Hiccup knelt only for a short moment before turning to Axel. His bright green eyes were glistening with tears he forced to remain unshed.

“Give him back his life.”

Hiccup’s voice trembled as he struggled to keep himself calm. Jack took his hand lightly in his own, trying to comfort his love.

“Oh Hiccup, you know I don’t show mercy. Besides, I couldn’t… even if I had wanted to. He belongs to me now, and it’s only a matter of time before he stops fighting me completely.” Axel’s voice was dripping with false emotion as he teased Hiccup mercilessly.

“But…” Hiccup sniffed quietly, screwing his eyes shut. A single tear dripped from his face onto Stoick’s ashy and boney hand. Slowly, Hiccup opened his eyes and saw Stoick’s axe laying uselessly at his side.

Jack saw the wheels in his head begin to turn.

**_Jack!_ **

As Toothless’ warning reached Jack’s ears, and before he could say anything to stop him, Hiccup grabbed the heavy axe and began to swing wildly, running blindly at Axel. He screamed in anger, and Jack’s heart began to squeeze tightly.

He held Stoick’s weak hand as tight as he dared, trying to comfort the dying man. He knew Hiccup needed to get the anger out of his system, and he hoped Axel would be tolerant…. He was the one toying with Hiccup this way, after all. The only thing Jack could do was step in to protect the boy if Axel decided to hurt him, with the risk of the loss of his own life.

Axel sidestepped Hiccup’s weak attack with ease, and clicked his tongue mockingly.

 “Now Hiccup…. Don’t you know that this behavior is not going to help? This is no way for the son of the chief to act.”

Hiccup swung again, a loud grunt echoing through the cave from the effort of the swing. Axel dodged once more, his taunting smirk slowly turning into a frown of frustration.

“Fine. It looks like I will have to put your miserable existence back into its rightful place.”

The frustrated frown was replaced by a sly smirk. Axel’s white hair swirled out around his body once more, this time curling out and making a halo of white around his long, lean body. The glow brightened as the dust swirled from his body and wrapped around his wrist.

The dust kept swirling, lengthening out into a long, spiked whip. Sandy looked down to his coiled whip and the back to the enemy’s weapon. Axel began to twirl the whip around his head, slowly at first, then building speed.

“Does this look familiar Sandman?” Axel’s voice was once again mocking as he twirled the barbed weapon around his head with ease.

Jack saw the evil intent glistening in Axel’s aura, and he was sure that if he could see the star’s eyes, they would be glowing with the sick joy of torture. Jack looked from Stoick to Hiccup’s angry form, which was gearing up for a third attack- completely blind to the danger.

Without another thought, Jack stood quickly.

“Astrid, protect him.” Jack motioned to Stoick with one hand as the other gripped at his head. The sudden movement had caused his vision to blur.

Astrid nodded and knelt over Stoick, taking the place where Jack had been kneeling. Jack nodded slightly and watched Axel closely. He was still swinging the whip over his head.

Hiccup was now staring at the golden halo that was spinning over Axel’s head.

Axel flicked his wrist.

The rock next to Hiccup’s head exploded with the force of the attack, causing Hiccup to flinch and duck away. Jack tensed. Axel could have had a direct hit on Hiccup’s head, but he was enjoying teasing the poor boy. Jack watched as Axel’s body geared up for a second attack. He knew this time he would not miss.

Jack leapt in front of Hiccup as the whip came down.

Jack’s vision blurred again. Pain raked across Jack’s back as he hit the cold, stony floor of the cave.

“Jack!”


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Hiccup stood frozen in terror.

Jack had just leapt in front of him, and now his crimson blood was seeping onto the cold, unforgiving ground. The gashes across Jack’s back looked deep, and Hiccup’s heart squeezed in small, tight palpitations.

His father’s axe dropped with a dull _clang_.

“Jack!” The chorus of worried voices surrounded Hiccup’s hearing, yet no one moved any closer.

“Oh… well… this is certainly an unexpected ending for our little Jack.” Axel teased, changing his whip back into a dagger. “Poor, poor Jack.”

Axel chortled and let the dust settle at his feet.

Hiccup couldn’t hear Axel as he sank to his knees next to the white haired boy. Jack’s tunic and cape were ripped to shreds, showing the marks that Axel’s weapon had made clearly. Hiccup could see they were beginning to heal, but Jack still had not moved.

“Jack.” Hiccup whispered, placing his hand on the only uninjured part of Jack’s back.

Hiccup felt empty. His heart was squeezing; he couldn’t breathe.

Stoick lay dying, and now Jack was quick on his heels. Jack…. The only other important thing in his life, other than Toothless, was dying. And it was entirely his fault.

Toothless warbled, but even that sound, so familiar and comforting, was barely audible to Hiccup’s ears.

All Hiccup could think about was Jack’s motionless body, covered in his crimson blood. How many times already the spirit had protected him; supported him. And all Hiccup had done was get him into more trouble, and now… now he was either dying, or already dead.

Hiccup let out a quiet sob.

“I love you…” Hiccup whispered the words, wishing with his whole heart to hear those words spoken aloud once more. _Please let Jack not be dead. Please, oh Gods, please._

“I…love…you…too.”

The words were barely audible, but Hiccup looked to Jack’s face, tears dripping down his own.

Jack’s bright blue eyes sparkled with life, but Hiccup could see the pain he was trying to hide. Hiccup smiled with relief. Jack was alive. He pulled the boy into a tight hug. Jack groaned quietly in pain, but returned the hug.

North’s thick accent filled Hiccup’s ears. “Now is time for our turn.”

“Axel Night, you cannot continue this. You _must_ not continue this. Your actions not only destroy the safety of the humans here on earth, but also many spirits and dragons, as well as the stars you are trying to protect.” Tooth’s voice was strong as she tried to reason with the star.

Axel snorted in response.

“Please listen… The balance will be destroyed. If that happens, the world will be plunged into chaos and darkness. All the stars will disappear completely, and instead of freeing them, you will kill everyone you are trying to help.” As Tooth explained, her voice wavered.

Jack gently pushed into Hiccup and stood. He winced in pain, but did not cry out, nor did he look to Hiccup for help.

“I just decimated dear Frost, what makes you think that I can’t do the same to you?” Axel’s voice was taught with irritation.

“Because there are four of us mate.” Bunny said. “And Jack isn’t out yet.”

“Oh?” Axel looked over his shoulder to Hiccup and saw Jack standing, with very little help from the brunette. “I suppose you are right. But, he is in no way able to fight.”

“But we stop you now.” North said simply, unsheathing his swords. To Jack he said, “Glad you are alright.”

Axel let out a laugh.

“Do you think mere _children_ will be able to stop me? Do you think I would let you defeat me? You are trying my patience. I am stronger than all of you.”

“Whether you let us defeat you or not is beside the point.” Bunny sneered, “I would rather enjoy a fight right about now.”

“I’m sure you would.”

Axel sneered back at Bunny. The golden dust began to swirl around Axel’s lean body.

Hiccup’s eyes widened as he watched golden sparks shoot off of Axel’s body, then simmer into nothingness. Was Axel just showing off? Hiccup couldn’t tell.

“I will make you pay for interfering. Hiccup, what do you think? Who should I kill first, to prove I am the strongest? Or should I just finish off all of these miserable humans?”

Hiccup’s mouth dried. Wasn’t there a way to settle this argument without death? Hadn’t enough dragons, humans and spirits been hurt and killed already?

Hiccup swallowed once, twice. A lump began to form in his throat, obstructing his voice from working. He wanted to speak, to try to talk Axel out of this madness of murder.

“Leave him alone Axel.” Jack’s voice was tight with anger as he stood protectively in front of Hiccup.

Toothless warbled in agreement.

“Are you really in a position to order me, Frost?”

Axel’s dark eyes narrowed and the dust swirled together, forming a large gold arrow.

“Let’s see if your _beloved_ will forgive you for this mistake.”

“What do you mean?” Hiccup found his voice long enough to ask the question. He pushed Jack to the side.

Hiccup could see out of the corner of his eye that Jack was looking for something. Toothless groaned and Jack nodded.

“Thanks scaley.” Hiccup heard him mutter. Whatever Toothless had said, Jack stopped looking for whatever it was he had been looking for.

“I mean…” said Axel, ignoring Jack’s and Toothless’ conversation, “Dear Hiccup…that you will pay for his insolent outburst.”

Jack gasped loudly. “No.” He whispered this denial, his eyes growing wide as he looked into Hiccup’s eyes.

Hiccup’s heart wrenched. Axel, still ignoring everyone’s reactions, continued.

“You will pay, by means of your father.”

The arrow loosed.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The scream that echoed through the cave was not Hiccup’s.

Jack ran- even though it physically killed him to do so- to the convulsing body of the Viking chief. Hiccup was frozen in place, his mouth hanging open in shock, tears running down his face. Astrid, who had been thrown away from Stoick with the force of the attack, lay a few feet away; her body crumpled into a giant mass of cloth, skin, and fur.

Hiccup wasn’t going to forgive him. Why would he? They had left Berk to find the survivors and bring them back alive. And Jack had just gotten the only survivor left killed. Not to mention, it was Hiccup’s _father_. It was his fault that Stoick was even closer to death- if he wasn’t already dead from the blast.

Jack collapsed to his knees at the chief’s head. Stoick stopped convulsing, and his eyes drooped as his life left him. He was barely breathing, but, to Jack’s relief, he was still alive.

“Stoick… I know you don’t need me to tell you this, but you need to live. You _have_ to live. Hiccup is still just a kid. He needs you. Fight… Please… It will be okay, we’ll fix this. Resist death- for your son.”

Jack took one of Stoick’s large-boned hands in both of his cold ones. He winced at the idea this discomfort would bring to the dying man, but Hiccup was still standing in shock. Jack’s eyes began to brim with tears as he watched the life seeping out of the large man.

Why was he crying? Was it because this was Hiccup’s father? He didn’t know Stoick well, even at all. But he was crying over this man. He would never get to know the man. He wouldn’t get a chance to hear embarrassing stories about Hiccup as he grew up, he wouldn’t get to watch him grow old.

Why would all this bug him so much? He had Hiccup, that was enough…. But now he was crying for the boy’s father. He was the only one that had run to Stoick. Why?

“Jack…” Stoick’s face was barely louder than a whisper.

“Yes? Stoick?” Jack grasped the chief’s hand tighter. At least the cold didn’t seem to bother the dying man. Frost began to creep slowly up the cave wall in lazy swirls. If Jack had not been so preoccupied with everything else, he would have marveled at his creation.

“You…must…” Stoick struggled for air. Jack leaned closer, trying to hear what Stoick was trying to tell him.

“I must…. Must what?”

Jack heard Hiccup move, and looked up briefly to see the small boy running. Jumping over rocks and dodging piles of skins and boulders. Tears were glistening all down his dirty face.

“Take care of my son.”

It was barely a whisper. But Jack heard it clearly, as if Stoick had shouted it. Stoick closed his eyes. The hand Jack held became heavy and limp. There was a loud _whoosh_ and all that remained of the large Viking chief was a mass of leathery skin and a few broken bones.

“Dad?” Hiccup stood at Stoick’s feet, his green eyes shining. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and drenching the collar of his tattered green tunic. His hands were balled into two tight, white-knuckled fists.

“Hic…” Jack looked up at the small boy, who stood, shuddering in anger and… pain. But pain wasn’t a strong enough word for the emotion written so plainly in Hiccup’s eyes. Anguish? That seemed more the proper word. Anguish and anger.

“I’m… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“Jack.”

“I couldn’t…. couldn’t…”

“Jack.” Hiccup’s voice seemed far away.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“Shut _up_ snowflake.” Hiccup growled, his fists clenching and unclenching.

Jack’s jaw tightened. Now… now was the time. Hiccup was going to scream at him, curse him…. Tell him how much he hated him. Maybe Jack would get hit. It served him right. He was supposed to be protecting Hiccup… and so far he had done a lousy job of this.

“But…” Jack whispered, hoping that his mind was only mocking him.

“No ‘buts’ Jack. I know.”

Hiccup smiled at Jack, but it was not a happy smile. It was a pained smile; full of sadness and hurt. It was Hiccup’s attempt at hiding. He was trying to be strong. Jack’s heart squeezed, knowing that it should be him acting as the strong one, and letting Hiccup weep for his dead father.

 ** _Jack. Hiccup is fine. He is a lot stronger than you are letting him be._** Toothless’ voice resonated throughout Jack’s brain. **_However, you need to pull yourself together. We have unfinished business to attend to._**

Jack nodded, wiping away his tears. Hiccup bent down and grasped at a long, curved stick. Jack realized it was his missing staff.

Hiccup handed the staff to Jack. Jack took the staff gently from Hiccup, allowing his hand to brush Hiccup’s warm fingers. He let his own fingers linger for a moment, relishing the warmth. Once this was over, he would be with this warmth, for as long as he would be allowed.

“Here.” Hiccup smiled briefly, his eyes filling with joy. “I think you will need this. I am gonna sit out and let you do the fighting from now on. Okay?”

**_He still trusts you Jack. He still loves you._ **

“Yeah…” Jack nodded again. “Take as long as you need Hic.”

Jack grabbed Hiccup’s arm and pulled him into a hug. He brought his lips to the brunette’s ear and whispered, “I’ll win this. For you. I have been entrusted with keeping you safe. I will not fail.”

Then he pulled Hiccup away from his aching chest and looked him in the eyes. Those bright green orbs were filled with love. Love for _him_. His heart fluttered slightly and he planted a light kiss on Hiccup’s forehead. He heard Hiccup sigh.

**_Softy. You sound like a lovesick girl._ **

Toothless laughed aloud, causing Hiccup to look over at the giant black mass of scales with one eyebrow cocked in confusion.

“Sometimes I wish I could hear both sides of your conversation.” Hiccup mumbled, nudging Jack away.

“Someday you might.” Jack promised.

A loud yawn interrupted Jack. “Are you two done? I’m getting rather bored… And it seems the “powerful” Guardians don’t want to make any moves without first consulting Mr. Frost. Fight me _NOW!!!_ ”

Axel’s voice pounded throughout Jack’s already tender head. Before he had a chance to turn to face the rogue star, a giant black and red tail swung down and knocked Jack and Hiccup off their feet. They landed on their butts; identical grunts of pain were expressed.

Not a second later, a large orb of gold dust rammed into the wall where Jack’s head had been.

“Thanks bud.” Hiccup said as he sat up. He didn’t attempt to stand, but inched closer to the wall. Toothless chirped happily.

“Let’s get this over with.” Jack looked to the Guardians. “I want to go home.”

Tooth was hovering over Sandy, her lavender eyes wide with worry and terror. North’s eyes had been wide too, but as he saw Toothless and Jack begin to gear up for battle, his eyes narrowed in anticipation. He rolled his shoulders, loosening the beefy muscles that kept his arms attached to the rest of his body.

“Time to go.” Bunny said, twirling his boomerangs in his giant paws.

Seeing everyone getting ready to fight, Tooth began to flit around excitedly. “Can I have his teeth? They are quite lovely…”

Axel smiled evilly.

“Sure Tooth. If there is anything left by the time we’re finished with him, you can have whatever teeth you find.” Jack chuckled. “But, I plan on having some fun.”

“Come on!” growled Axel, baring his teeth like a feral dog. The dust began to swirl around his wrists, transforming into a double edged scythe. Jack was surprised at the intricacy of the star’s weapon choices.

**_Jack! We need to guard-_ **

“Don’t worry scaley. We will take turns. I won’t let him get hurt.”

**_Alright. The others will join in too…. It looks like they are itching for a fight._ **

Toothless let out a loud, ear-splitting roar that shook the entire cave. The young teens all picked up whatever weapon they could, and stood at the ready, waiting for Jack to make the first move.

“No more games Axel.” Jack’s feet dug into the hard ground, ready to push off in a split second. A light layer of frost coated a three foot area around him. He held his staff at the ready. His eyes narrowed. “We finish this now.”

“Fine by me.” Axel hissed.

The final battle began.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Sparks flew from Axel’s scythe as he knocked the last of the humans to the ground. They weren’t dead…. Yet.

Perhaps he had been too merciful while he played with his victims. Letting them all live was a mistake. He should have ensured Frost’s death. That was a mistake he _would not_ make again. As for the Guardians… there was a problem within itself. They were more powerful, more disciplined, and knew how to work completely well together. They knew how to use their strengths and weaknesses. Axel frowned as he dodged an attack from Sandman’s whips.

He should have thinned his enemies while he had the chance. At least most of the dragons were still trapped in their prison. Bunny’s boomerangs zoomed past Axel’s head. That was really annoying.

He wasn’t worried. Even though it had been eleven to one, he hadn’t been worried. The humans proved to be weak, and now thinking about it, he could easily count them as half of a spirit. That brought his enemies down to six and a half. It didn’t matter…. He was stronger than all of them. He had enough spirit, dragon and human life force to ensure that.

More sparks flew as Axel blocked yet another attack from North’s swords. He ducked as Tooth swooped in with a sharp dagger. Using all his strength, Axel pushed up on his weapon and kicked North in the nether region.

Yes, it was a cheap shot, but he wasn’t afraid to fight a little dirty.

With a grunt, North collapsed.

Using his dust to create a shield, Axel switched his scythe to a long, wide sword. With a malicious smile he sliced deep into the large man’s meaty belly. All he wanted to do was incapacitate them until there was no one left to fight. Then he would drain their life from them. He enjoyed that much more than just killing.

His smile widened as he watched North’s eyes widen. North cried out in pain.

Oh, how he loved bringing pain to others.

Axel kicked North hard enough to roll him onto his back. North sputtered and coughed up a great amount of blood.

One down.

A shot of blue fire whizzed past his head. Axel gritted his teeth in irritation. The Night Fury was, without a doubt, more annoying than even the young winter spirit. But…. So was the flying green girl. In a split moment, Axel decided she would be next.

With an angry cry Axel turned his sword into the spiked whip he had used earlier. This was, without a doubt, the best weapon to weaken any opponent. It was one of his favorite weapons, but his most favorite was his dagger. The joy of seeing the life leave your prey was so satisfying.

Quickly, Axel swung the whip and snapped it at the Tooth Fairy.

She would fall.

The sound of ripping flesh caused Axel to smile. A small, weak cry echoed in his ears, causing his heart to flutter. Was this how Man in the Moon felt when he gathered his power? This feeling… it was intoxicating.

The Night Fury was saying something, but Axel couldn’t hear. All he could sense was his own joy at seeing the little fairy slumped to the ground.

Tooth was kneeling on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Her wings were torn right down the middle. Lines of blood trickled across her back. The blood dripping down the lines of her cuts reminded Axel of music.

She couldn’t fight well on the ground- if at all. Instead of killing her…he could have done that easily… Axel simply placed her and Sandman in a small dome. The Sandman had gone to see if the girl was okay, and that was _his_ mistake.

He let his guard down.

Something hit him in the head, hard. Gritting his teeth, both in pain and annoyance, Axel turned to face the giant rabbit.

He didn’t see Jack come up from below, Tooth’s dagger glimmering in his hand.

 

***  ***

Jack gritted his teeth.

Dodging Axel’s attacks were causing the pain from his head and back to throb in severity.  Even though he was a quick healer-even for a spirit- he wasn’t anywhere near properly healed. Not even close.

But he didn’t have time to sit and heal. He had to protect Hiccup.

Dodging Axel’s attacks was all that Jack had been doing, really. He was causing distractions and dodging bolts of dust, all while checking to make sure Hiccup was out of the line of sight of the enemy. Axel had swept all of the other Vikings into an unconscious state in a matter of seconds. Jack couldn’t find a way to get close.

**_Jack._ **

“What?”

Jack dodged yet another shot of gold dust and cringed as his body hit the cave wall. He watched as Axel kicked North onto his back, and Jack’s jaw dropped as he saw the fountain of blood come out of the large man’s mouth.

Toothless must have seen too, for he shot a ball of blue fire at the star, but missed its target by mere centimeters.

The retaliation from Axel was not what Jack was expecting.

An angry war cry echoed off the cave walls, sending rocks shuddering and the ground vibrating. Axel’s weapon shifted into a long, barbed whip. Jack cringed. Out of all of the weapons the star had used, the whip was the one Jack was the most afraid of.

It was obvious Axel enjoyed dishing out pain. There was no doubt that that was why he chose such gruesome weaponry. But why wasn’t he _killing_ his enemies? North lay bleeding, but he was still very much alive. The Viking teens were only knocked out. Jack tried to figure out what Axel was thinking.

In a split second, the whip raked across Tooth’s back. The sound of ripping flesh, mingled with the pitiful cry that escaped the fairy’s lips, made Jack’s stomach churn and knot.

The dagger she had been holding dropped to the ground with an equally pitiful _clank_ , just a few feet from Jack.

Jack didn’t have time to think before he had to dodge another shot of gold dust. Toothless was in his head a moment later, screaming orders.

**_Take the dagger Jack. Creep up to the star. The rabbit will distract the star for you…_ **

“Okay.” Jack reached down and grabbed the small silver dagger. Immediately it frosted over at his touch.

 ** _When you get close, drive it into his middle. That is where a star’s heart lies. You can finish this fight. You have enough power to drive it in._** Toothless’ voice shook slightly, as though he didn’t actually expect Jack to succeed.

“I will…. And he _will_ die.”

Jack gritted his teeth, preparing to finish this battle.

Axel had proven his strength, in a roundabout way- only Bunnymund, Toothless and himself remained.

 Jack stole a quick glance at Hiccup, and saw the boy curled into a ball, his green orbs staring intently at the battle, focusing on everything and nothing at all.

_ Your recklessness will be the end of you both. _

_ The boy is not likely to survive. _

Hiccup _would_ survive. Axel wouldn’t be able to hurt him. Jack needed to make sure of that. The dagger glistened in his icy grasp, and he narrowed his eyes in concentration.

Bunny threw his boomerangs at Axel: one at his head, the other at his feet. As the boomerangs flew, Jack began to run, low to the ground, the dagger replacing his staff.

Jack could hear Axel grind his teeth together. The star turned, but he wasn’t looking for anything close to the ground; he was staring directly at the Easter Bunny. His eyes only saw the giant rabbit, who, unfortunately, was now weaponless. Bunny’s boomerangs did not return to him.

Jack knew right then that he could finish this.

Silently Jack stood up in front of Axel. He lunged forward, pushing the small dagger all the way to the hilt.

Axel froze.

He looked down and met Jack’s eyes. The deep purple orbs that stared into Jack’s soul were full of confusion and disbelief.

“This is for threatening Hiccup.” Jack growled, baring his teeth and glaring at the star. “And this… this is for Stoick.” Jack pushed the dagger up, up, up- up until it reached Axel’s chest cavity.

Deep blue blood gushed out of the long, jagged cut on Axel’s front. Jack had never seen blue blood before, and looked at it with curiosity for a moment. Then he looked back into Axel’s eyes.

Axel gasped in pain. His whip disappeared, a pile of fine golden dust resting at his feet.

“And this is for everyone else.”

Axel’s eyes widened as Jack leapt into the air and twisted his body. Jack’s bare feet made contact with the rogue’s jaw, breaking it squarely in half.

The star rolled limply into the cave wall.

The golden domes broke, releasing its prisoners. The piles of dust did not move to its controller, but sat messily in small piles and circles. The dragons all cried out with joyous roars.

 ** _Maybe this spirit isn’t so bad after all._** Stormfly said as she ran over to Astrid’s rigid body. All the dragons went to their respective teens, and Jack smiled. It was over.

While Bunny went to check on his companions, Jack turned to find Hiccup leaping into the air.

“Jack!”

“Hiccup!”

Jack caught the boy in midair, and twirled him around before wrapping the brunette in a long, tight embrace. Hiccup laughed and returned the hug.

 ** _You did it Jack. You saved the future of Berk._** Toothless warbled happily, nudging Hiccup gently.

“You didn’t sound like you thought I could do it earlier.”

 ** _Well…_** Toothless cleared his throat nervously. **_To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you would be able to._**

“Well I did.”

“Jack.”

Jack looked down to Hiccup’s dirty, tear-stained face. He kissed the boy’s forehead gently, inhaling the sweet scent he loved so much.

“What is it Hic?”

“Let’s go home.”

Jack smiled. Home. Berk. He couldn’t wait.

He didn’t notice the gold dust until it hit Hiccup straight through his heart.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Hiccup felt cold.

His ears heard nothing, but he saw the horror in Jack’s eyes. He saw Toothless’ yellow-green eyes turn from wide pupils to slits. He saw the color of gold as it exploded out of his chest.

What’s happening?

Hiccup tried to form words… but his voice wouldn’t work.

His knees felt weak; it was hard to breathe. Jack was saying something…Hiccup strained to hear something. _Anything_. Toothless opened his large mouth but still Hiccup heard nothing. Pain started lacing its way through Hiccup’s body. A thousand needles poked his chest and arms over and over.

His vision became blurry around the edges. He could faintly feel his body collapsing; falling down, down, down, to the cold unforgiving rock of the cave floor. He couldn’t feel the ground underneath him though.

What was happening to him?

Just as soon as everything had started, everything stopped. The pain slowed, then froze. Shouts exploded in Hiccup’s head, and he felt the cold of the rocky earth under his small frame. Warmth started to creep back into his limbs.

“Hiccup! Hiccup are you okay? Please, answer me!” Jack’s face came into focus, his big blue eyes brimming with worried and frightened tears.

Behind him, Hiccup heard a faint laugh. Jack froze and slowly looked up, his eyes narrowing.

“Here is my final gift to you Jack Frost.” Axel’s voice was soft, and hard at the same time. He was breathing raggedly. “My poison will spread and suck the life from your dear lover. Slowly. Painfully. For the next ten months. Then he will be gone.”

Hiccup’s heart froze.

This couldn’t be real. He had to know it was fake.

“Jack?” His voice came out much smaller than he had intended.

“Hang in there Hic.” Jack clasped Hiccup’s hand tightly. Hiccup smiled. The cold felt nice. Soothing- just like it had always felt. Hiccup tried to sit up but was stopped by Jack.

“No Hic.”

“But-”

Jack’s look stopped Hiccup’s protest.

“Toothless.” Jack’s voice was full of anger as he spoke to the mighty dragon, “Make _sure_ he is dead.”

A loud grumble… and Toothless disappeared from Hiccup’s side.

There was a loud sound of bones cracking, and the sound of something running… course and hard…. Sand?

Hiccup frowned, trying to place the sound.

No… not sand. Course dust. Dust was falling from somewhere behind him. Hiccup knew what it was… Axel had been defeated- there was nothing more of him now.

“Poor Tooth…” Hiccup whispered to himself, remembering how excited she was to get the star’s teeth at the end of the fight. Now she wouldn’t get them.

Toothless was back by his side again, nudging him carefully and cooing. Hiccup was glad he had such a good friend so close.

Hiccup gasped as a tearing pain ripped through his body. He wouldn’t scream… and then he realized he _couldn’t_ scream. It was as if his voice had been ripped from him when the pain came. As the pain lessened, sounds began to warp.

“…poison…body…” a girl’s voice. Sounded like Astrid.

_Oh Gods…. Please don’t let me die like this._

“Help him… need…moon.” Jack’s voice wavered. At least… Hiccup _thought_ it was Jack. It was him, right?

“Mate…no…raising boys from…”

The pain lessened even more. It was now a tolerable pain, if pain _could_ be tolerable. Hiccup began to concentrate on breathing. The sounds no longer warped, and Hiccup could hear the conversation fully once more.

“This _is_ what Manny said, no?” North was breathing heavily, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle. “The boy…”

“ _Will_ live.” Jack’s voice was harsh as he responded, pushing himself roughly to a standing position. He faced the other spirits, rage clearly seen in his crystalline eyes.

“But how? Unless you know some sort of magic spell or something, the boy _will_ die. If we kill him now-”

“ _NO!_ ”

The sound of cracking caused Hiccup to jump slightly. The pain threatened to come back as he did so, sending warning throbs into his head, arms and legs. Jack had used his staff… but on who? Had it been on the giant rabbit-kangaroo? The bird girl? Or the tiny gold man? Hiccup couldn’t look to see. His head began to throb mercilessly. He could feel another wave of pain coming… and with it, he knew, some of his life would leave.

He wasn’t even half as strong as his father had been. It might not even take ten months to kill him…

“Jack…”

“Astrid. Take the others back to Berk. We will come back when he is able to move. Tell the others what happened… though be sure to downplay or leave out all the spirit stuff.”

Jack’s voice was full of authority. He had changed so much in the short while they had known each other.

Hiccup smirked slightly, despite the pain that was building. He remembered the first time the two had met. Even though it hadn’t been more than a month, it felt as if he had known the mischievous spirit forever.

The sound of dragons taking off told Hiccup it was just Toothless and Jack with him now. Hiccup felt the tears building up behind his eyes, threatening to explode. He screwed them shut as tightly as he could manage, silently willing the tears to stop. He focused harder on his breathing.

The words of the star came back full force, knocking what little breath Hiccup had had out of him.

Ten months to live.

And pain was to be a regular companion through it all.

Ten months…

Slowly, Hiccup reached into one of the folds of his vest. Resting coolly in the fold was the small ice prism. Next to it was the mini Jack figurine. He held both cold sculptures gently in his small fingers, allowing the cold to numb his feeling.

An unwelcome tear dripped down the side of his face, making a trail through the dirt.

What could be done in ten months?

_Oh Gods. Help me. Odin, Thor. Eir, heal me, Hlin... protect me. I beg of you._

Another wave of pain washed over Hiccup.

"Okay Frostbite. You sent the humans home." Bunny's voice was hard as he spoke. "Now. Let's talk."

"There is nothing to talk _about_." Jack mumbled, looking away from the Guardians and down at Hiccup, who had begun whispering his prayer out loud.

"Then hear me out."

It was silent for a long minute. Hiccup could only hear the sound of his heart beating slowly. Once. Twice.

He began to count.

"Mate. I know you care for the kid. But he's gonna be in pain the rest of his short life. Is that what you want for him? To keep him in pain? That's pretty selfish Frostbite, even by your standards."

Forty. Forty-one. Forty-two.

"I don't want him to suffer. But I don't want his last memories of life being his father dying. I don't want his last day alive to be the same day he lost his father. He just lost the only family he had left."

Hiccup’s heart skipped.

Quietly, carefully, he pulled his hand out of his vest. Held tightly in his fist was the small prism. Bringing it closer to his face, Hiccup shook the ice once, twice. He brought it all the way to his face, so his nose was touching the cold prism.

He watched the tiny snowflakes swirling around lazily in their icy prison.

If he was a snowflake, he could be with Jack forever. He could melt, but Jack could bring him back. Hiccup wasn’t sure if snowflakes felt pain, but he was fairly certain they didn’t know what pain was. They just floated in simple bliss.

Hiccup was no longer listening to the conversation the spirits were having. He could not hear the pain in Jack’s voice, or the worry in everyone else’s.

Toothless made a strange garbling noise. He placed his head next to Hiccup’s. He did not close his yellow-green orbs, but instead stared directly at Hiccup with an intensity that only he seemed to have.

Hiccup’s eyes hardened in determination.

He may be only a fragile human; he could break and injure, and die… but that didn’t mean he needed to give up yet.

He still had ten months to fight.

He would make sure these next ten months were the best he ever had. He owed it to himself, and to Jack. He would fight for his life, just like he had always done.

Toothless would be by his side through it all; Jack too.

The pain was something he would have to muddle through… but he was sure that he could do it. He had, after all, experienced all kinds of pain before this. He had lost his leg. He had fought for a place among his people. He had _trained a dragon._ There was nothing he couldn’t do.

And in ten months, he would say good-bye.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Jack. Your intentions are good, but do you really think that letting him live like this-in pain- is a good idea?” North’s voice was strong, yet quiet as he spoke to the frozen spirit. Jack scowled and looked to the floor, his breathing becoming heavy as he tried to keep himself calm. Why did Jack’s actions matter to North all of a sudden? Jack knew Hiccup better than anyone standing in the cave, save the giant lizard. Hiccup would understand his exact intentions: they weren’t that hard to see.

“He will be reminded every day, every breath he takes, ever move he makes, that he has one day fewer left to live.” Tooth reached a small hand out to touch Jack’s shoulder. Jack, not wanting to deal with any of the Guardians, pulled away.

 ** _Jack. She is only trying to help._** Toothless’ voice was gentle as he spoke to Jack, and that only made him that much more upset.

“I don’t need their help.” Jack snapped. Toothless made a strange sound and looked back to the small brunette.

 ** _Jack. Don’t be reckless. This is not the time to be thinking of fun, or about what you want. Think about Hiccup and his needs, before you consider yourself._** Toothless’ voice was tense as he finished his sentence, and looked back to the white haired teen.

“I… I want him to have fun one more time.” Jack turned away from Toothless. “I want his last memories to be happy.”

Jack’s heart squeezed and he took a deep breath to steady his quivering voice. He had to be strong, for Hiccup.

“Is that really so selfish?” he whispered, his eyes looking toward Hiccup’s tiny shaking figure. He could only imagine the pain Hiccup must be feeling. That thought alone sent his heart squeezing tighter and tighter.

Toothless rolled his eyes and made a half-grunt, half-warble. He laid his head down next to Hiccup’s. His breath moved Hiccup’s tangled brown hair ever so slightly.

**_No… not terribly so._ **

Jack looked at Toothless. The large reptile was staring at Hiccup intensely. Then he remembered something. He began to inspect his staff, looking for the small pendant that the Man in the Moon had placed on it. It had to be useful, right? Manny always did things that were helpful to the Guardians… didn’t he? Jack wasn’t a Guardian, but wouldn’t Manny try to do something nice for him?

Jack hoped that Manny had given the pendant to help him, but somehow he figured that Manny would simply do something that seemed nice just to piss him off. Manny _was_ the one who had ignored him for the past fifty-eight years. That small doubt in the corner of his mind led him to feel that Manny would do nothing helpful for him, or Hiccup.

Finally, just before he was about to give up what seemed a futile search; Jack found the object he had been searching for, nestled in the crook of his staff. It was small, barely visible… hidden in a small fissure in the wood.

A tiny crystal.

It shimmered with life as Jack plucked it gently from the safety of his staff. Jack had never seen anything like it before. It mesmerized him and terrified him at the same time.

“Well, if the frostbite wants to subject his human toy to pain, who are we to stop him?”

Jack heard Bunnymund grumble as he gently patted the ground with his huge foot. A huge hole appeared and he was about to jump into it, but stopped as Jack spoke.

“North, what is this?”

Jack held the crystal gingerly in his fingers as he brought it closer to his face.

North had turned away from Jack, but turned toward him once more. He took careful steps to the snowy boy’s side.

“That… is a really tiny crystal.”

Jack rolled his bright blue eyes at the large man’s sarcastic joke.

“I know that North. But what is it for? What does it do? That’s what I want to know. What _is_ it?”

Toothless looked to Jack, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

“Well, I can’t say. I don’t know what it is.” North’s face transformed into one of sincere apology and he began to turn away from Jack once more.

**_Bring it here Jack. I may know what it does._ **

Jack did as was instructed, lowering the crystal shard into Toothless’ line of vision. Toothless stared hard at the shard, his eyes narrowing more and more, until Jack thought he had been put to sleep. The voice that rang through the cave startled Jack.

**_Where did you get this?_ **

“Oh, uh…. Manny put it in my staff before I met back up with you guys.”

**_I see._ **

What was going on? Did Toothless know something? Jack’s mind was reeling with questions, and all these questions hinged on the identity of this tiny crystal shard.

Toothless looked from the crystal to the small brunette laying beside him. Hiccup hadn’t moved, and his breathing was ragged as what Jack assumed was another bout of pain attacked his tiny body. His eyes were closed; his left hand was hidden in the folds of his vest.

“So, do you know what it is?” Jack couldn’t keep the anxiousness from his voice as he asked the Night Fury. He followed Toothless’ gaze to Hiccup’s face. His heart skipped a beat as he watched the boy’s chest barely move up and down.

 _Hiccup…._ _How can I help you get over this?_

**_Yes. I do know._ **

Toothless short response snapped Jack back to his senses.

“And?” His heart beat faster, “Will it help him?”

**_Yes. It will._ **

Jack sighed internally, thanking Man in the Moon for giving him a break.

“How?”

**_He needs to swallow the shard. It will suck out most, if not all of the stardust. It may also prolong Hiccup’s life, if this shard is what I think it is._ **

“And what, good dragon, is that?” North asked roughly, moving closer to Toothless.

**_I believe it is a shard of the crystal Aberfaim._ **

“The… what?” Jack’s eyes narrowed as he tried to think. The name Aberfaim sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it from, if he had ever heard it at all.

**_The crystal Aberfaim. It is a powerful crystal that can restore life, and sometimes even grant special gifts to those who use it. It is meant for those who have life yet to live, usually they are on the brink of death, or dead already. It is said that that is how Man in the Moon brings spirits to being. At least… that is the legend._ **

“What do you mean the legend? Don’t you know for sure?” Jack looked at Toothless with wide eyes. He wouldn’t bet a legend on Hiccup’s life, that wasn’t his nature. But if Toothless was simply guessing…. Jack didn’t want to think about the possibilities.

**_We dragons don’t exactly need that kind of thing, so I never paid much attention._ **

“I suppose you’re right there Toothless.”

“Jack, can you be sure of what this dragon says?” Tooth whispered gently. It was painfully obvious that none of the Guardians trusted Toothless as far as they could throw him, which, Jack guessed wasn’t very far.

Jack nodded, trying to ease Tooth’s worry.

“I’ve known Toothless for a long while. He was my first friend.”

**_You were more of a nuisance than a friend to me._ **

“Ouch…”

It seemed things were lightening up. If the crystal was, in fact, what Toothless claimed it was, then Hiccup was as good as healed.

“Jack?”

Jack heard a soft voice call his name from behind him. He turned and looked down at the small boy who had called him. Hiccup’s eyes were glazed over quite a bit, but he looked like he was coming around to a form of normalcy.

“Yes Hic?”

It was silent for a minute, but it seemed like forever as Jack waited for Hiccup’s response.

“Let’s have a snowball fight. Let’s fly. I know it will be harder for me now, but I want to spend the rest of my time with you and Toothless.”

Jack’s heart dropped as Hiccup continued to explain his thoughts.

“Hiccup…”

**_Jack… look at his hands._ **

“Huh? Oh…”

In Hiccup’s pale hands was the prism Jack had made him. Even from the distance he was at, he could see the snowflakes swirling lazily in their frozen prison. Jack’s heart fluttered at the sight of his gift. And in that instant, Jack understood why Hiccup was acting the way he was.

The prism signified Jack’s affection. It was his strength. Hiccup was using the prism as a tangible form of strength, to battle through the pain and the fear. Hiccup held it close, like it was the last truly important thing to him. The little Viking was definitely one of a kind.

_Oh Hic. You are the epitome of stubbornness._

“Sure Hic. We can do all those things. But first, before all that…”

“What?”

Hiccup’s voice cracked as he slammed his eyes shut. Jack knew that another round of severe pain was running through the poor boy’s body. His mind was reeling. How could he get Hiccup to take the crystal? It wasn’t exactly something he could say nonchalantly… it _was_ his life they were dealing with. What if it wasn’t what Toothless thought it was, and simply a copy? What if it wasn’t even that and Manny had put it in Jack’s staff for a simple laugh?

Jack sighed, pushing these thoughts as far away from the front of his mind as he could. Hiccup was counting on him. The only way this could get done quickly would be a straightforward approach.

“You need to take this crystal, and eat it.”

There was silence. Hiccup opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, his eyes filling with confusion.

“Um… what?”


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“You need to eat this crystal shard.”

“Why?”

“It’s going to help you. Toothless thinks it’s a shard of the crystal Aberfaim. He thinks it will suck out the poison of the stardust.” Jack sighed in frustration.

Hiccup’s eyes widened in understanding. Toothless was not a creature that would ever put Hiccup in danger. But he was also a creature with amazing instinctual power. If Toothless thought this crystal would help, it probably could. What did he have to lose, anyway? He had ten months to live after all, it wasn’t like there were many options at this point.

“Alright.” Hiccup’s voice cracked slightly. The idea that Toothless could be wrong, and that this crystal wouldn’t do what he thought it would ran through his mind, causing a cold sweat to form on his forehead and back.

He had to be strong. He had to have faith in Toothless. He had to prove to Jack that he wasn’t so fragile. He was a Viking after all. And not just any Viking- he was the only son of the late chief.

Pain shot through Hiccup’s legs as he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position. With a high pitched gasp, he screwed his eyes shut and held his breath. He would not cry out. He would not show his pain. It wasn’t what Vikings did.

As the pain began to subside, Hiccup felt cool hands cupping his face.

Slowly, Hiccup opened his eyes. Staring at him were the twin pools of crystal blue he had expected to see. He could also see the pain and worry hidden behind Jack’s calm features.

“Hic… please. Please don’t try to go through this all on your own. Please, let me- and Toothless, help you.” Jack’s voice was soft as he finished speaking; his eyes beginning to tear, but never leaving Hiccup’s face.

Hiccup could feel his heart begin to beat faster as he stared into Jack’s childish face. What was it about this boy that always made Hiccup feel safe; feel like he really belonged somewhere. Toothless was the same way.  Hiccup pondered for a short moment before nodding his head.

“Not going to lie. It hurts. But, I am a Viking. I’m tougher than I look.”

Jack smiled.

“I know, my little Viking. I know.” He handed Hiccup the shard, placing it gently in his palm. “But this will help. Here. Take it. You will feel better.”

“I know he will! I feel it… in my belly.” North boomed, turning to look at Hiccup with sparkling blue eyes.

Hiccup snorted. The old man had a decent sense of humor, and because of that, Hiccup felt better- more confident that whatever this shard would do, it would be on the healing side of things.

Hiccup looked at the small crystal in his hand, watching every corner glitter in the dim light of the cave. It was so tiny, even in Hiccup’s small hands.

_How did Jack get ahold of this? And, more importantly, how did he not manage to lose it?_

“Alright… Here goes.”

Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and threw his head back.

A foul taste filled Hiccup’s mouth. It was as if he were tasting Astrid’s Yaknog for the first time, though somehow, he wished it really _was_ Yaknog. Without a second thought, Hiccup spat out the small crystal and began to wipe his tongue with the back of his hand.

“Ungh…” Hiccup sneezed slightly and looked over to Toothless. “I think the fish was better tasting than that thing. I can’t eat that. We will have to find another way.”

Toothless grumbled and stood up. Jack began to laugh.

“What?”

“Oh nothing really…” Jack chuckled, reaching down to grab the crystal shard off the earthen floor.  “He just made a funny comment. Come on Hic, please try one more time.”

“No. I’m sorry Jack. Honestly, I would rather drink Astrid’s Yaknog.”

Toothless let out a laugh, his warble echoing off of the cave walls.

“It’s not all that funny Toothless.” Grumbled Hiccup, looking down at the ground.

“Hic…”

Another bout of pain surged through Hiccup’s body, and he began to scream. Jack was holding Hiccup’s hand before the pain had even fully taken over.

Hiccup felt hot. The fire that surged through his body was relentless as it pulsated throughout every limb. Jack’s hands were pressed to Hiccup’s face, attempting to cool the raging inferno under his skin.

Hiccup tried to speak. He tried to cry out. No sounds came from his open mouth. He couldn’t hear anything either. Jack gently pulled Hiccup into a tight, yet extremely gentle embrace, and Hiccup began to feel the ice spirit’s cool body through his own tunic.

Jack gently pulled Hiccup’s hair away from his sweaty face. All Hiccup could do was close his eyes because the pain continued to pulsate. Jack leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Hiccup’s hot forehead.

Finally, the pain subsided.

“Jack…” Hiccup choked, his voice weak. He had to deal with this amount of pain, for the next ten months? Was it really worth it? It hadn’t even been a whole night, and Hiccup was already wanting to call off living.

_But I am a Viking… pain… it’s an occupational hazard._

“Jack I-”

Soft, cool lips enveloped his own. Hiccup’s eyes widened briefly, then gently closed. Jack pulled Hiccup closer, and the kiss deepened. Hiccup could taste Jack’s sweet, minty flavor as he poked his tongue into Hiccup’s mouth, gently teasing him.

Hiccup’s mind began to go fuzzy. This kiss, though similar to previous kisses, was very different. It was as if Jack was trying to kiss the poison out of him. The urgency of his lips pressed against Hiccup’s made him dizzy with excitement.

Hiccup began to fight Jack’s tongue for dominance, letting out a light moan of pleasure. Jack pulled him closer and held Hiccup tightly. As the two teens kissed, Hiccup became less and less aware of what was going on around him. There was one thing he seemed acutely aware of though.

The pain running throughout his body seemed to be lessening. It felt as if Jack’s kisses were successful in drawing the poison out. Was he really helping, or was Hiccup imagining things?

_But wait… Jack’s kisses aren’t magical. Why am I feeling that his lips are what’s healing my pain? It’s not that…. Did he trick me into swallowing the shard?_

Hiccup’s breathing became shallow and rapid as he tried to keep up with Jack’s fevered kisses. Jack was breathing heavily, trying to keep himself in composure. Hiccup could no longer feel Jack’s cool touch- his temperature felt the same as his own.

Finally, Jack pulled away from Hiccup.

He gently nipped Hiccup’s nose, and then smiled. The two had gone from embracing each other in a sitting position, to being sprawled on the floor, Jack on top of Hiccup. The boys’ legs were intertwined in what most people would assume to be a painful human knot.

Jack’s face was slightly pink, and it made his bright blue eyes sparkle with life. Hiccup was breathless simply looking at the snow teen’s smiling face.

“How… do you feel?” Jack asked quietly, his breathing only slightly altered from the way he breathed normally. He kept his eyes glued to Hiccup’s face.

Hiccup took a second to gather his thoughts, cataloguing how he felt. He wiggled his toes, and then he twisted his foot in a large circle. He took a few deep breaths. There was no pain, no matter what he did.

“I feel great.” Hiccup looked into Jack’s eyes and held back a small chuckle.

Jack _had_ tricked him into swallowing the shard. But, Hiccup wasn’t upset. It seemed as though Toothless’ thoughts had been right. He should have known that Jack would not let him give up on a healing option so easily.

“Can we go racing now?”

Jack smiled. “Sure.”

“And, can we have a snowball fight?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Jack’s eyes still had not left Hiccup’s face, and the blush around his cheeks had not lessened any either.

_What’s going on with Jack’s face? Why is he blushing so much?_

Hiccup shook his head slightly. It didn’t matter why Jack was still blushing. All that mattered was that the pain was gone, and now Hiccup could spend time with Jack and Toothless. They could race, and have snowball fights, and mess around with Astrid and the other teens.

“Well just prepare yourself Jack Frost! Toothless and I are going to win at everything! You don’t stand a chance.”

Jack let out a small chuckle. Then he laughed openly. He sat up slightly and his eyes crinkled with joy.

“I’m glad you’re back Hic.”

Hiccup nodded, not knowing what to say.

There was a moment of silence, and Jack gingerly picked himself off of Hiccup. The color in his face still had not changed, but Hiccup wasn’t minding so much. As he sat up, he felt at least six pairs of eyes focused on his back.

Hiccup turned around slowly, and he found all of the Guardians staring in wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock.

“Erm… uh…” Hiccup’s face began to heat in embarrassment as he remembered what had just happened. The Guardians had watched the entire thing. That explained why Jack’s face was so pink.

 _Damn snowman._ Hiccup thought lightly, averting his eyes back to the earthen ground. _At least Snotlout and the others aren’t here._

“Jack… wh-”

Hiccup’s eyes widened as a deep, unfamiliar voice echoed off the cave walls.

**_Jack, next time you feel the need to molest my rider, do it when I don’t have to watch._ **


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Jack scratched his head in embarrassment. He wasn’t exactly embarrassed, but Hiccup didn’t need to know that. He was already becoming preoccupied with being able to hear Toothless.

“You could say ‘thank you’, since I did just save your rider’s life. I wasn’t about to be the one to ride you until you died.”

Toothless snorted in disgust. **_As if I would ever let you. Damn snowflake._**

Hiccup’s mouth opened and closed in shock. Jack could see the wheels in the boy’s head turning as he tried to comprehend what was happening. Jack stifled a chuckle.

“Toothless? I can… I can hear you.” Hiccup’s voice was nothing but a small squeak as he slowly stood.

 ** _I’m not surprised. The crystal Aberfaim is extremely powerful, and its healing qualities often leave its patients with a little extra something._** Toothless waddled up to Hiccup and nudged the boy lovingly. Hiccup smiled a little lopsidedly as he gently rubbed Toothless’ head with equal affection.

“I wished I would be able to talk with you like Jack could. Now I can. The only thing left is for you two to get along.”

Jack let out a bark of laughter, unable to hold it in. Toothless snorted and turned to glare at the snow teen.

“What’s so funny Jack?”

“That’s a tall order. Not on my end, but on your dragon’s. I’ll do my best, for you Hic. But don’t expect anything anytime soon.”

Jack scratched his head again. Hiccup’s color was returning, and Jack could see he was almost back to his old self.

 _Good. I wonder what the crystal shard actually did. He can now talk to Toothless, maybe there was something more?_ Jack shook his head, careful not to let Hiccup know he was thinking something. _Don’t wish for too much Jack. He’s well, and that’s what’s important._

In the midst of Jack’s thoughts, a throat cleared. Jack looked up and met North’s eyes.

“Well, we must go. Everything is under control here, yes?”

Jack nodded and gave a small smile.

“Thanks. For, you know… helping.”

Tooth fluttered next to Jack and enveloped him in a giant hug. Though she was small, Tooth was fairly strong. Jack felt the air leave his body as it was squeezed out of him. He was lifted into the air and twirled around, all the while being held firmly by his biceps.

“It’s our job to help, and to protect the children.” She said as she put him down. Jack gratefully took a deep breath of air. His lungs screamed in slight protest as he filled them.

“Tooth, you are really strong.”

Tooth giggled in response. Then she flicked her head to the side and began mumbling about molars. She flitted out of the cave and out of sight, still muttering. Jack imagined she was giving orders to her tooth fairies now that the danger was gone. North was also heading for the front of the cave, the slight jingle of bells heard as he drew farther away. Sandman had already left with Tooth, leaving a grumpy looking Bunny standing over the spirit and his human partner.

“Well Frostbite. I hope to not see you for a long, _long_ while. That goes double for this dragon, and I hope to never see the boy again.”

“Aww come on you big Kangaroo, you could at least pretend you hate us a little more than that. Some people might think you actually do care.” Jack smirked, swinging his beloved staff over his shoulders and taking cautious steps away from the giant rabbit.

Bunny snorted and tapped his big foot on the ground. A huge hole opened, and he wordlessly jumped through. Instantly the hole closed up, leaving a giant yellow tulip in its place.

Hiccup stared at the flower for a moment. Then he reached over to grab Jack’s tunic.

“What’s wrong my little Viking?”

“Nothing. I just want to go home now.”

**_I too wish to go home. I would like to sleep in my own bed for once._ **

“Yeah. Hiccup’s bed seems pretty nice right about now too.”

Toothless growled. Hiccup gave a small hiccup and smirked, knowing what Jack was insinuating. Color began to rise into his cheeks. Jack’s heart squeezed just the tiniest bit. This was _his_ Viking. And he had more than ten months to spend with him.

Hiccup got onto Toothless’ back and latched himself in. He looked around the giant cave one last time and shuddered just the slightest bit. Jack couldn’t blame him.

“Is it a race?” Jack asked, his heart speeding up at the idea. It would be fun. He missed the fun. He was kinds tired of trying to be an adult of sorts. Those decisions were too hard and too boring for him.

Hiccup chuckled. He reached over and patted Toothless’ neck and met Jack’s bright blue orbs. Excitement shone through every feature.

“Yeah. It is a race. And I will win.”

“Don’t hold your breath.” Jack taunted, levitating and quietly summoning the wind. “Aaannnd….”

“GO!” both boys shouted at the same time.

Toothless let out a bellowing roar and beat his wings ferociously. Jack had gotten a slight head start and was weaving in and out of the clouds. His heart felt free and he let out a _whoop_ of laughter. Behind him he heard Hiccup’s echoing _whoop_ and Toothless joyous call. Jack turned and flew on his back, his arms behind his head. His cheeks hurt. Only then did he realize he hadn’t stopped smiling.

Soon Toothless was on top of him. Literally. A giant black belly criss-crossed with harness buckles loomed menacingly over Jack’s head. Toothless turned his head down and gave a very toothy grin.

**_You shouldn’t take it so easy. This is a race after all._ **

“I’m not taking it easy; I was waiting for you to catch up. For a Night Fury, you’re pretty slow.” Jack ran his hands over his head in a nonchalant attempt to temporarily stop his snowy locks from whipping him in the face. Hiccup was leaning slightly over Toothless’ side to see what was going on.

“Jack!” Hiccup shouted, the wind obviously roaring in his ears. “What do we tell the people of Berk when we get there?”

Jack stopped flying mid-air. Toothless burst forward then did the same thing, except he turned around to meet Jack. Jack’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He had honestly not even considered what they were going to say to the people- only the teens could see him, and he had no idea what they had told the people already.

“Jack?”

 ** _Let me guess. Jack Frost has once again no plan moving forward. You were going only on your instincts? You are worse than a primitive beast._** Toothless garbled in annoyance as his yellow-green eyes pierced through Jack’s being.

“Toothless, I’m sure he was too caught up in worrying about me to think that far ahead. You didn’t exactly come up with anything either.” Hiccup chastised Toothless, patting the top of the dragon’s head in an attempt to calm him down.

It was quiet for a few long moments.

“I guess we have to find the teens first. Figure out what they have told the people and go from there.”

Hiccup nodded as if this plan was whole and completely perfect. His little half grin was intoxicating and soon Jack too was smiling as if this was the best idea he’d ever had. Toothless only shook his head in exasperation, but said nothing.

**_I believe it would be best to meet at the alcove. Jack you go ahead and locate Astrid and the others, and bring them to the alcove. We’ll meet you there._ **

“Got it.”

Without a second’s hesitation Jack flew off towards Berk. Hiccup and Toothless flew higher into the clouds and watched as Jack disappeared into the distance.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Hiccup?”

“We’re over here Astrid!”

Hiccup had been sitting on a rock, drawing in the dirt. The earth was full of ridges where his stick had gone over multiple times in his sketch. Toothless stood a distance away, doing the same with a giant tree. His sketch was more squiggles than actual shapes, but one could see what it looked like nonetheless.

Astrid jumped down from the rocky ledge, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs following closely behind. Snotlout was last, and he was dragging his legs, trying to avoid talking to Hiccup. As Hiccup turned to meet the teens, Astrid leapt onto him, nearly knocking him to the ground. To his own amazement, Hiccup did not fall, and was able to support Astrid’s weight completely on his own.

“We were so worried about you! Are you okay now? Jack didn’t say much, just to meet you here.” Astrid was rattling off questions quicker than Hiccup could comprehend, but he didn’t mind. He was strangely calm now that he was back on Berk.

“Where is Jack?” Hiccup looked around, hoping to see his beloved white haired lover, but he was nowhere to be found.

“He said it was better for him to stay at the house while we talked. He thought Toothless would appreciate less of a distraction for you.”

**_The little snowman is thinking ahead a bit. I’m impressed._ **

Hiccup grimaced slightly but thought it best to ignore Toothless’ slightly rude comment. After all, it would be pretty weird to all of a sudden respond to Toothless. Astrid and the others didn’t know he could now hear and understand Toothless, and probably all the other dragons too. Instead he sighed. Why was Jack acting this way all of a sudden? It didn’t make sense. But then again, very little of what Jack did made sense to him.

“Well, let’s get to business.” Hiccup said, a little louder than he had anticipated. Astrid looked at Hiccup with wide blue eyes.

“Right.” Astrid looked uncomfortably from Hiccup to the other teens. “We didn’t tell them much.”

“What exactly _did_ you tell them?”

“Just that you are a gay not fit to be chief.” Snotlout piped up, his voice grating on Hiccup’s ears.  “And that your dad is dead.”

“Well… that’s… great.” Hiccup said flatly, trying to discern whether or not Snotlout was serious. His irritation was plainly visible on his face.  “Anything else?”

“Well, besides Snotlout, well all said there were no survivors, and that it seemed to be some sort of magic-type attack.” Fishlegs said, nervously twiddling his fingers together. “I figured, since we have dragons that a magical being stronger than them wouldn’t be too farfetched an idea.”

Hiccup nodded. “Good idea. Did they seem to want to know more details?”

“Nope. They were upset about the ‘no survivors’ part of my speech.”

Astrid shook her head. “They seemed more upset that we didn’t try to bring back any remains.”

_Odin help me._

“What did you tell them in regards to me? Anything?”

“Well I did tell you-”

“Snotlout I already know what you told them. I want to know if there was anything else said.” Hiccup snapped at his cousin, his green eyes blazing with anger and frustration. Why did he have to be so… so…

**_He is a prick. Can I roast him sometime soon? Just a little singe? Now that you can hear me, I can finally ask._ **

Hiccup shook his head, trying to be discreet and hoping Toothless was watching. An annoyed sounding gargle came from Toothless in what must have been his response to Hiccup’s denial.

Snotlout raised his hands to his chest and backed a few feet away. His jaw was clenched tightly shut. Hiccup nodded in satisfaction.

“No, we told them you had stayed behind to deal with the issue. You wanted us to protect Berk.” Astrid looked a little guilty as she said this. “Goldie knew though.”

“Ah.”

It was quiet for a moment, then Hiccup looked to the teens. He had no idea what he was going to do. He wasn’t chief material-he had known that for a long time. But he was the chief’s only son. How would the rest of Berk feel if he passed the title of chief to Snotlout? Or to Astrid, since she would be the most likely person to skillfully watch over the people.

But he also had Jack. Jack would be able to help, right? Sure Jack could be a bit childish and he never really thought ahead or about anyone else, but since it was Hiccup, maybe he would be able to act a bit more mature. Or, at least, mature enough to help protect Berk.

“I would just not explain until people start asking.” Astrid said lightly, patting Hiccup on the back and dragging him from his thoughts. “And don’t worry… Snotlout didn’t say anything about your love of men. I was watching him.”

Hiccup smiled slightly. To Astrid, Hiccup was sure it looked like a grimace. But she said nothing; she simply looked at Hiccup with sadness in her eyes.

 ** _Maybe we should check on Jack?_** Toothless warbled cautiously. **_He might have some ideas that could help._**

“I think I’m gonna head to the house.”

The teens nodded.

Hiccup turned and gathered his harness. He tightened the buckles and fastened himself to Toothless’ warm body. Toothless shivered a little, loosening the straps just enough to make it comfortable.

“I’ll see you back at Berk.”

“Hiccup.”

Hiccup turned to look at Astrid. All the other teens were heading back the way they had come, slowly climbing up the rock wall in the almost complete darkness that was enveloping Berk. Hiccup hadn’t realized it had gotten so late.

“Yeah?”

Astrid took a deep breath, steeling herself. “I’m glad you are back… and… I hope you still will lead us as the next chief.”

Before Hiccup could respond, Astrid wheeled around and nimbly climbed up the rock wall, disappearing from sight.

“Well bud, let’s go see Jack.”

**_Sure thing Hiccup._ **

The flight back to the village was quiet and peaceful. At least, the air was peaceful. Hiccup’s mind was reeling with ideas and problems. His most problematic thought: How to tell the people of Berk he was gay- and that his lover was Jack Frost. How would they respond? Would they accept him like Astrid? Or give him problems like Snotlout?

“Hey Toothless, if I tell everyone in Berk I’m gay, what do you think will happen?”

**_Some people probably won’t like it. They will probably treat you like that cousin of yours. Others will be like Astrid, and defend you no matter what. Why do you ask?_ **

“I think that the people should know.”

**_It will be a lot to take in- remember that only a select few can see your snowman. Most will probably think you are crazy._ **

There was a pause as Toothless landed on the roof of the chief’s hut. Hiccup could hear Jack rustling around in his room, slight eruptions of swearing occurring as things went _bump_. Hiccup smiled wondering what Jack was up to. As he swung himself off of his dragon and through the window, Hiccup saw a wide array of food, placed in all types of trays and bowls.

**_What in the name of Thor did you do, Frost?_ **

Jack rubbed his hands through his hair nervously, his cheeks pinking all the way to his ears. “I… erm… I wanted to uhh… make Hiccup a surprise feast.” His blue eyes shone as he glanced up into Hiccup’s face. “It was my first time making stuff like this, so I wanted to be alone so big old scaley didn’t laugh at me.”

This caused laughter to erupt from both Hiccup and the Night Fury.

“It is not funny!” Jack stamped his foot lightly on the floor, his lip puckering into a pout. Small swirls of ice trickled away from Jack’s bare feet and toward Hiccup.

“Awww. I’m sorry Jack.” Hiccup rubbed his eyes and gingerly stepped toward his icy lover. “Just sometimes you are too cute.”

 ** _And overly self conscious._** Toothless muttered. **_I would only make fun of you if you managed to somehow poison my beloved rider. But you would have deserved it then; and something far worse. But right now I don’t care either way._**

“But Toothless,” Hiccup said, turning back to his dragon, who had begun to curl himself up in his bed, “there’s enough here to feed a dragon on top of us two. He made some for you.”

“Yeah, I figured it would be nice to have a hot meal waiting for you when you got home, y’know?” Jack glanced around sheepishly, trying to avoid Toothless’ critiquing glare.

Toothless snorted. **_Jack Frost? Make a hot meal?_** He shook his head, visibly trying not to laugh and hurt Jack’s feelings, or Hiccup’s for that matter. **_A meal, sure. A hot one? I doubt the snowman even knows the meaning of heat._**

“Toothless.” Hiccup chastised with a slightly irritated tone. Jack was right about the two of them not getting along. This was going to take a while. Hiccup sighed. “Jack’s trying to be nice. I’m sure he did just fine cooking. Now stop being a big baby and come over here and eat.”

Jack’s eyes widened in surprise. Hiccup could tell he hadn’t been expecting Hiccup to come to his defense. That, for some reason, made Hiccup chuckle. He walked up to Jack and gently kissed the boy’s frozen cheek. Instantly a bright pink leapt onto Jack’s face, spreading across his nose and reaching his ears.

“I’m hungry. What did you make Jack?”

“Well, I grilled some Salmon, and also found a lot of weird berries. I’m not sure if you can eat them but I picked them anyway-just in case. I was hoping the Night Fury would be able to tell me. I found some bread, and butter. And did you know there was a freezer down below your floor? Cuz there is. It’s full of hams and I think a whole cow!”

Jack was excited. As he was explaining everything he had found, he began to wave his hands around in big, loose circles, splattering the ceiling and Toothless with what looked like some sort of cake batter. He somehow managed to avoid hitting Hiccup with the sticky liquid, though Hiccup wasn’t exactly sure how. Instead of asking more questions, Hiccup reached for a stick of smoked Salmon. He had no idea what a grill was- and honestly the Salmon on the grilled sticks looked more like charred wood with eyeball holes than any fish known to man. Toothless went straight for the grilled items, swallowing them in one or two gulps.

“Wow…” Hiccup licked his lips after taking a bite from a piece of charred ham. “It tastes… interesting. It’s pretty good. Not really very smoky flavored either.” Hiccup took another big bite. “’Nd its… juithy.”

Jack laughed. “Hic, you shouldn’t eat and talk at the same time. You look kinda funny.”

Hiccup nodded, happy to see Jack laughing. It had been a while. The race, of course, hadn’t counted, in Hiccup’s book.

 ** _Hiccup, isn’t there something you wanted to tell Jack?_** Toothless grumbled lowly, finishing his meal and returning to his bed to sleep.

“What happened Hic?” suddenly there was no sound of fun in Jack’s voice- just cold, hard worry. Hiccup took a deep breath.

“Well, first off, it’s nothing bad… really. I wanted to know if you had any ideas.” He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts into one cohesive idea. Jack looked at him with one eyebrow raised quizzically.

“They gave very brief explanations for things, mostly saying that it was some sort of magic-based attack. They didn’t mention you or anything else like that. Astrid said we should hang low and not talk about it until asked by the people.”

Jack was nodding his head, his eyes fixed on Hiccup’s face, but not actually paying attention to everything being said. Hiccup could tell he was thinking, but of what he had no clue.

“Also, I think the people of Berk should know about us.”

Jack froze. His eyes were wide with terror and surprise. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. Toothless opened one eye lazily, watching with mild interest in Jack’s reaction.

“Hic, that’s a lot…”

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

“No. I like the idea. I mean your dad did give his blessing, and that’s all I really need, but there is a lot of people. What if, even after you explain, people don’t believe, or see me? I think that could cause a lot of issues. But what happens if no one agrees with your way of thinking? Will we leave? Who will be chief? Honestly, Snotlout is too bigoted to lead a clan of ants-let alone people. And he’s the only one who has blood claim besides you.”

“I know.” Hiccup whispered, looking down at the wooden planks under his foot. “I figured it would be good for people to know because I’m not going to marry to keep up appearances. That would be lying, not just to myself- but to whoever I would marry as well as all of the people who follow me. I’m not comfortable with that.”

“Well what about Astrid?”

Hiccup looked at Jack, his green eyes wide with partial disgust, partial concern.

“Are you… are you serious? Why would you think I would drag Astrid into this? Jack, that’s a bit… wrong. Don’t you think?”

Jack collapsed onto the floor, his feet stretched out in front of him. His staff was laid neatly across his lap, the crook wrapping lightly around his waist. Hiccup could see Jack thinking, racking his brain for any ideas that would be better than the ones just stated. Hiccup sighed.

“Jack… I know… you mean well. But I just don’t think it’s fair to Astrid.”

“I know.”

“Don’t look so mad then.”

“I just don’t know what else we could do.”

 ** _You could stop acting like a child and actually see what Hiccup has thought about. Take a page from his book. You are fifty-eight years old._** Toothless grumbled.

Hiccup turned to glare at the sleeping dragon.

Jack nodded. “I’m just… scared.”

“Of what?”

The silence that followed Hiccup’s question was thick and tense. Finally Jack responded, taking a deep breath.

“I’m scared, that I… I might have to leave you.”

Toothless raised his head and swiveled it around to stare at Jack. His yellow-green eyes were full of anger. Hiccup’s own green eyes were wide with surprise.

“Why…”

“It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it Hiccup? If people can’t see me, then you look bad. You will lose your credibility as chief. People will turn on you. I can cause you so much pain… all because no one can see me. And then… then I’ll be alone again.”

Toothless snorted.

**_You think that’s what he’s concerned about snowflake? You think Hiccup cares if he’s chief?_ **

“Toothless is right. I only want to be by your side. Whether that’s here or not, I don’t care.” Hiccup wrapped his arms around Jack’s skinny shoulders. He could feel Jack’s icy breath hitching in his throat as he fought back tears.

 _I will protect you Jack._ _You won’t be alone ever again._

Toothless got up from his bed and curled himself around the two boys. He spread his wings and enveloped them in darkness. Jack took a deep breath. Hiccup turned his face into Jack’s neck, breathing in his icy mint smell. Gently, he kissed Jack’s neck, trailing kisses up Jack’s neck and cheek, finally planting one soft kiss on Jack’s forehead.

Jack’s lip quivered.

“Jack, listen to me. Look at me.” Hiccup whispered, gently pulling Jack’s face to his own. His bright blue orbs were shiny with unshed tears. “You won’t be alone again. Ever. I won’t let that happen. I promise. I… I love you Jack. More than anything else.”

“Even more than Toothless?”

“Well… you and Toothless are tied. You’ll just have to accept that.”

Jack smiled. “That’s okay Hic. You will always be my little Viking. That’s something I’ll treasure forever.”

“Good. Now… let’s get some sleep alright?”

Smiling, Jack reached around Hiccup and pulled off his dirty green tunic. Hiccup shivered just the slightest bit as Jack’s fingertips grazed his bare skin. Hiccup smiled and did the same to Jack. Jack held out his arms to Hiccup, who crawled into his embrace willingly. The two fell asleep, Jack’s arms wrapped tightly around Hiccup’s waist, Hiccup’s head buried in the crook of Jack’s armpit, foreheads and noses touching. Toothless’ wings were wrapped protectively around the boys, keeping them in a blissful sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Jack was awoken by the sound of clattering dishes beside his head. Instinctually he reached for his staff, but it was not beside him. Instead he found a skinny boy curled to his body. Jack smiled for a second. Hiccup was just too adorable to ignore. He slipped into his tunic and pulled himself out of the tangle of black wings enveloping him and his lover.

“Astrid.” Jack hissed when he saw the blonde Viking picking up the bowl that had been knocked to the floor. “What are you doing here? You’re gonna wake Hiccup.”

“Sorry… I came to talk to you Jack.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You. About Hiccup.”

Jack’s heart began to beat wildly. His eyes widened. “What about him?”

“Well… it turns out Snotlout did say something to Gothi, the elder of Berk. Last night… when we all went our separate ways. It’s spread like wildfire overnight. Gobber and a few others plan on coming over in the next hour to ask questions.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. Toothless opened one eyes lazily, watching the two converse.

“Really? I guess I should wake him. Do you know what he said?”

“By ‘he’ I assume you mean Snotlout. I don’t know what he said _exactly_ , but it was something along the lines of ‘Hiccup’s an unfit chief because he is in love with a spirit, and to top it off, that spirit is a guy’. I don’t know what you guys were planning, but now it seems that Hiccup will have to explain.”

Jack nodded. Like it or not, Hiccup was getting what he wanted.

“I’ll wake him.”

“Oh, Jack?”

“Yeah Astrid?” Jack gently tugged on one of Toothless’ wings, trying to separate it enough that he could slip back inside.

“I will support you. No matter what happens.”

“Thanks Astrid.”

Jack watched as Astrid turned and went back down the stairs. Then he popped inside the winged barrier to find Hiccup rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Jack… what’s going on? I thought I heard Astrid.”

Jack sighed. “You did. Apparently your wonderful cousin decided to tell the whole village about us while we all went to sleep.”

“He _what?_ ”

“Aannd… apparently Gobber and a few others are on their way to ask you questions. It looks like you get to tell everyone anyway.”

“Well that’s just… great.”

Toothless unfurled his wings, exposing the boys to the morning light drifting in the giant window. Hiccup covered his eyes with his arm and waddled sleepily over to his dressing table and pulled out fresh pants, and a clean tunic. Jack grabbed his staff from underneath Toothless’ large head as the dragon yawned and very toothy yawn.

As Hiccup pulled his tunic over his head, there was a loud _bang_ on the door. Hiccup’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard.

“Well, here goes.”

“Hiccup… I’m here with you. And so is Toothless. Everything will be okay.”

Hiccup smiled and nodded. “Thanks Jack.”

“Hiccup! Hiccup I know you’re in there. Come on out boy, we have to talk.” Gobber’s voice cut through the air as his greeting met Jack’s and Hiccup’s ears. Hiccup groaned.

As Hiccup hobbled down the stairs to the main room of his house, Jack flew up into the rafters and Toothless waddled closely behind. Hiccup took a deep breath and pulled open the heavy oak door. Standing with his arm propped up to bang the door again, was Gobber. Behind him was Gothi and Spitelout.

“Uh… h-hi Gobber. Gothi, Spitelout. Come on in…” as he made room for the adults to enter the house, Hiccup glanced up worriedly at Jack. Gothi made a slight humming noise in the back of her throat and began to draw in the dirt of the doorway.

“We heard you were… well… into men?”

Hiccup nodded. Spitelout groaned. Gobber’s eyes widened and then went back to normal. Gothi continued drawing in the dirt.

“And that there is a… boy you are interested in?”

Hiccup nodded once again.

“Where is he?” Spitelout demanded, grabbing hold of Hiccup’s shoulders and shaking him violently. Toothless growled and wedged himself between the adult and his rider. Gothi stopped drawing and pointed up into the rafters, her eyes locked onto Jack’s location. Gobber looked up and looked back to Gothi, then back up to where Jack sat.

“He’s a spirit… the spirit of winter. Jack Frost.”

Gothi smiled and waved to Jack. Jack jumped down from the rafters and landed beside Hiccup. Gothi went back to drawing in the dirt with her long, gnarly staff. Then she tapped Gobber on the back and pointed to what she wrote.

Gobber read it, nodded and looked to Hiccup.

“Is there… erm. Well, a way we might be able to see this… erm… boy?”

Jack smiled and slammed his staff into the floor. Ice shot out and coated the floor in a thin layer. Spitelout screamed and turned to run toward the door. Gothi tripped him with her staff and shook her head. Jack smiled triumphantly. Gobber stood with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide.

“Great Odin’s Ghost… Ah!” Gobber rubbed his eyes and stared at Jack. Hiccup smiled, knowing that Gobber saw his lover.

“Gobber, this is Jack. Jack… this is Gobber. He’s my dad’s best friend, and kind of like a second father to me.” Toothless warbled with pleasure.

**_Well this went a bit better than expected. At least… right now. Don’t you think?_ **

Jack smiled and held out his hand to Gobber. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Gobber simply looked at Jack’s hand and turned away. “Well Hiccup, it might be a good idea to tell everyone in Berk. Maybe have him do that ice thing so people can see that. That’ll surely knock ‘em off their feet. I’ll call a meeting.”

“Wait wait Gobber, I’m not sure-”

“Hiccup, it’s something that has to happen, you might as well do it now. Especially since everyone is buzzing about with this rumor you are stepping down from your bloodclaim.”

Hiccup sighed. “Alright Gobber. I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Good! Glad to know our new chief knows responsibility.” Gobber turned and walked out the door, grabbing Spitelout by the back of his tunic and dragging him with. Gothi smiled and took Jack’s hand. She patted it once, twice, then let go and turned to the door.

It was silent for a minute. The door had slowly closed shut, and the light coming from the candles was eerie. No one moved, or breathed. Jack was tense. It was true that this meeting had gone better than he had anticipated, but everything was moving way too fast for his comfort. Now all of Berk was going to find out about him and Hiccup. But that wasn’t the real problem.

Jack’s heart stuttered in his chest as he thought about the crystal shard. He still had no idea how long Hiccup had, or if the crystal’s effect would wear off. It in truth had been bothering him for the last two days. He was worried that, if the crystal were to reverse, Hiccup would die instantly. Then he would be alone again. Toothless would no doubt find a new place, leaving Jack to wander the world once more. Unseen. Unknown.

Suddenly the oak door was thrown open. Hiccup let out a yelp and Jack shouted in irritation. Astrid stood in the doorway, her cheeks pinked from running. She panted as she doubled over slightly, staring at the boys and the Night Fury.

“Well… how… did it… go?”

“Better than expected. But now-”

“I know… Snotlout… isn’t very happy.”

Jack laughed. It served the boy right. He shouldn’t have been messing with Hiccup, and really shouldn’t have been putting his nose where it didn’t belong.

“Well, I think it is time to head out and get this over with.” Hiccup sighed and climbed onto Toothless’ back. “Are you ready bud?”

**_What kind of question is that? Jack? Let’s go you overgrown snowflake._ **

“I’m coming… let’s go Astrid.”

Astrid ran down the hill toward the Great Hall. Toothless flew, Jack riding behind Hiccup. Jack couldn’t tell who was more nervous: Hiccup or himself.

“Relax Jack. Everything will be fine. I promise.”

Jack nodded. He knew that everyone would at least accept Hiccup’s decision. For some reason everyone seemed to be okay with him and, even support him.

“I guess Snotlout isn’t all that popular around Berk, is he?”

Toothless snorted. Hiccup laughed. “No… I guess not.”

As they landed in front of the Great Hall, the doors were flung open and people surrounded the Night Fury and his riders. People were talking over each other, asking Hiccup questions and demanding answers, pushing each other out of the way so as to be heard. Hiccup raised his hands in front of his chest, trying to decipher where to start. Gobber raised his voice and everyone quieted down.

Hiccup looked over the entire population of Berk. The teens were in the back, sitting on their dragons, all but Snotlout watching intently. “I know, that you were told some things. Like that I am gay. This is true.”

Murmurs rose throughout the crowd.

“But, doesn’t that mean you won’t have offspring? No claims to the chieftains’ position?” Someone shouted, pushing another Viking out of his way.

“Well,  yes, technically. That does mean I will have no kin to have a blood claim. It just means I will choose the next chief from the entire population.”

“So you aren’t going to marry?”

“I plan on marrying. Just not a woman or a Viking.”

“Who?” Chorus after chorus of “who’s” and “what’s” bombarded Hiccup. Jack sat on Toothless’ back, as helpless as he had ever been. He hated this feeling. The questions were getting louder; they wanted Hiccup’s answers.

“Jack!”

As if it were a signal, Jack thrust his staff into the earth. Ice shot up, creating a barrier around Hiccup and the crowd of Berkians.  Screams of terror flooded Jack’s ears, and then they transformed into sounds of wonder and awe.

“Hiccup, who is that next to you?” Everyone began to murmur and question, their voices no longer fighting to be heard.

“This is Jack Frost. He is the spirit of winter.”

More murmurs.

“Jack is my boyfriend. The one I love.”

The murmurs got louder. In the distance Snotlout shouted, “If you don’t set the example, how are we supposed to want to have offspring? How can you lead if you are so strange?”

More murmurs… some of agreement, other to silence Snotlout.

“Just because I am choosing to live my life differently than you all, doesn’t mean everyone is going to follow my every move. I do not expect you all to immediately like the same gender. It’s just the way I am.”

The murmurs got louder and then died down. It became eerily silent.

“We all know I am not your typical Viking. We all have known this from the beginning. I refused to kill a dragon. I trained said dragon. I defeated the Red Death. I saw Jack when no one else did. I defeated a rogue star and have cheated death more times than I wish to count. This is who I am. My father has blessed this relationship, so whether or not I have your support, Jack and I will be together. But, if I do not have your support, as acting chief, I will appoint the next leader.”

It was silent for a long time. In reality, it was only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity to Jack. Finally, an eruption of claps and chants exploded in Jack’s brain. He was picked up by one big, burly man and squeezed tightly. Women clapped and patted his head. Hiccup was raised above the crowd and escorted to the Great Hall.

The rest of the day was spent in celebration. Hiccup was marked as the next chieftain and the celebrations lasted well into the night.

As Hiccup crawled into his bed after the long day, he held the snowflake pendant Jack had made between his fingers, twirling it around mindlessly. Toothless was curled into a sleepy black ball, and was already snoring gently in slumber. Jack was downstairs talking with Astrid and the twins.

Finally, Jack emerged into the doorway. He stripped off his tunic and let it fall lazily onto the floor along with his staff. The quiet _clink_ of his staff hitting the floor made Toothless’ ears twitch, but no other movement was made.  Hiccup raised his eyes from the snowflake and smiled.

 “Today went really well. Better than I could have ever hoped for.” Jack said slyly.

“See Jack? You don’t have to worry about being alone again. And we don’t have to leave Berk.”

“I guess they really didn’t want you to choose someone else to be chief.”

Jack rolled over Hiccup lightly and pinned himself against the wall, his back pressing up against the rough wood. He held his bare arms out to Hiccup, who nestled his way into Jack’s arms. Jack wrapped one leg around Hiccup’s hips, pulling him as close as he could possibly get. Hiccup giggled slightly, turning his face into Jack’s cold neck.

“We can do this forever, right Jack?”

“Yes… forever.”

“What adventures should we have now?” Hiccup asked sleepily, his eyes beginning to droop.

Jack kissed Hiccup gently on the lips, letting Hiccup’s sweet flavor fill his mouth. Then he pulled away, just as gently. He pushed the messy brown locks away from Hiccup’s face and smiled.

“We can have any adventure you want to have Hic.”

“I love you, my handsome snowman…” Hiccup muttered as sleep overtook him.

“And I love you, my little Viking. See you tomorrow.”

With that, Jack kissed Hiccup once more and closed his eyes.


End file.
